Sheffield United 2 Shrewsbury Town 4: Shrews stun Adkins as angry fans blast Blades

After witnessing last night’s atrocious leaden-footed defensive performance, anything resembling a spring in his step will have been replaced by a heavy limp if he chooses to venture out for a reflective ramble this morning.

Where it leaves the Blades this morning is anyone’s guess. Rated as title favourites before a ball was kicked in August under a serial third-tier promotion exponent in Adkins, they currently look anything but as they drift towards the mid-table morass.

To Unitedities, League One is considered a wretched penance and partway through their fifth season at this level, it is fair to say that last night was one of their most torrid since being unceremoniously demoted in 2010-11.

The mood among thoroughly disgruntled supporters was summed up after Shrewsbury’s fourth strike just after the restart from James Collins, which iced the cake after a triple goal-rush in the space of 10 scarcely believable first-half minutes courtesy of efforts from Sulley Kaikai, Ian Black and Scott Vernon.

The Kop echoed to the resounding and furious strains of “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” with a first-half chant of “What a load of rubbish” after the Shrews’ third goal also produced another unflattering refrain.

In his match programme notes, Adkins spoke about the Blades having a long way to go to achieve their seasonal goals, while urging everyone of a red-and-white persuasion to remain ‘united together.’

In terms of his first observation, it most definitely rings true. Although the sight of the Blades players being unceremoniously booed off by sections of the club’s support at the final whistle suggests that plenty of work needs to be done to mend a few fences between players and fans. In fairness to the Blades, treading water at 4-1 down after 48 minutes, they at least did not cower away in an attacking sense in what could have been a punishing final 40 minutes.

But the damage had been done in a defensive dereliction of duty, with Dean Hammond’s header midway through the second half providing scant consolation.

The pre-match suspicion that Shrewsbury would park the bus proved a total misnomer as they delivered an express-paced first-half performance which preyed on the hosts’ defensive uncertainties.

“It yielded three goals in a calamitous half for the hosts’ harassed back four, with Kaikai and Larnell Cole, in particular, having a field day.

The defending was of the rabbit-in-the-headlights variety, with the angst of the Blades patrons watching events unfold with a touch of disbelief being considerable.

A sign of things to come arrived early on when the well-stationed Bob Harris cleared a header from Zak Whitbread off the line following Black’s corner.

That said, the Blades did at least show a touch of proficiency in the attacking third to draw first blood on 17 minutes, in comfortably their best moment of the half.

Jose Baxter slipped in the recalled Conor Sammon – and after speaking about the importance of an early goal to aid the hosts before the game – he proved as good as his word, effortlessly steering the ball home past Jayson Leutwiler with a cool low finish.

It should have provided the Blades with the perfect platform, only for the Shrews to turn the game on its head with a triple whammy of goals which left the hosts dishevelled and dissected.

Kaikai drew the visitors level, cutting in from the left before unleashing an unstoppable curling shot after cashing in on hesitant defending and 86 seconds later more meek play led to a second goal.

Midfielder Black fired home low past George Long after his first shot was blocked. Incredibly, worse was to come with more abject play letting in Junior Brown, whose cutback was dispatched clinically by the unmarked Vernon on 35 minutes.

Adkins made a triple change at the break in a bid to somehow salvage matters – with Baxter, Neill Collins and Louis Reed all making way. But the evening assumed nightmarish proportions when Collins tucked away the visitors’ fourth on 48 minutes.

The Blades had their chances after Hammond reduced the arrears, heading in Harris’s free-kick with Freeman going close twice and Chris Basham drawing a late save from Leutwiler.

It was Shrewsbury’s night as they recorded their first win at S2 since 1988 as United dropped to 12th in the table.

Sheffield United: Long; Freeman, Basham, N Collins (McEveley 46), Harris; Baxter (Done 46), Reed (Edgar 46), Hammond, Adams; Sammon, Sharp. Substitutes unused: Howard, Coutts, Woolford, Campbell-Ryce.

Shrewsbury Town: Leutwiler; Grandison, Gerrard, Whitbread, Brown, Cole (Akpa-Akpro 76), Ogogo, Black (Lawrence 79), Kaikai; Vernon, J Collins (Barnett 79). Substitutes unused: Whalley, McAlinden, Burton, Smith.

Referee: R Clark (Northumberland).