Chris Wilder hopes Blades enjoy home comforts

United moved second in the table on Thursday, and level with leaders Scunthorpe on goal difference, after beating crisis club Coventry in a bizarre game at the Ricoh Arena.

And Wilder, whose side host Oldham on Boxing Day before entertaining his old club Northampton Town on New Year’s Eve, said: “We’ve played all the top teams and we’ve got two massive home games coming up now.

“We’ll get a great crowd for Boxing Day and hopefully a good one on New Year’s Eve too. The fans, I’m sure, will get right behind us and we want to try and make those games count.

“We want to try to get back to the standards of where we are.”

Skipper Billy Sharp scored twice in the win at Coventry, televised live on Sky Sports, which saw a number of protests from home fans against owners Sisu, who they believe are destroying their club.

“The game was disrupted but I think we’ve been outstanding in the way we went about things,” Wilder added.

“It was the least impressive we’ve played for a long time technically but the heart and the desire, well, I take my hat off to them.”

Sharp’s brace ended a run of five games without a goal, but saw the United skipper net his 12th strike in United’s last nine League One away games.

“We’ve got two massive games coming up now,” the 14-goal striker said.

“I don’t want to get over-excited or ahead of myself but, if we can do well in them, then we should have an exciting second half of the season.

“The gaffer has set us up to be tough to beat and to win games of football. We’re creating a lot of chances, and I’m in a good side here. I love scoring but there’s no better feeling than three points.”