Chris Wilder admits Leeds United 'jealousy' as focus shifts to ending Sheffield United's play-off hoodoo

After missing out on automatic promotion to the Premier League, the Blades - guaranteed a third-placed Championship finish - must now galvanise themselves for a play-off campaign which will begin on May 8.

United’s record in the end-of-season lottery is appalling.

They have never gone up through the play-offs, be it in the Championship or in League One, losing in all eight attempts, including five failures in the second tier.

Additionally, they also lost a relegation play-off in 1987-88.

Records are there to be broken. Last month, Newcastle United secured their first domestic trophy for 70 years - and ended a wait for a major prize stretching back to 1969 - with a Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool at Wembley following five failures at the home of football between 1974 and 2023.

In terms of the play-offs, Brentford's nine failed attempts was a national record before a relieving triumph over Swansea in the Championship showpiece in 2021 - when it was a case of tenth time lucky. Wilder, who was promoted to the Football League via the play-offs with Oxford United at Wembley in 2010, said: “We’ve talked about it before. The club’s going to be here for another 150 or 200 years, unless something happens to take it away from us all, and it’s been here for a long time.

“There’ll be a time to put that record to bed, and hopefully the time is this season.

"I know what it’s like, even though it was on a smaller scale, to come through the play-offs and win. It’s an incredible feeling.

“As a perfect example, everyone thought Newcastle would get turned over in the Carabao Cup but they had a day and a night to remember. It will happen. "Sheffield United will win play-off semi-finals and will win a play-off final. And it’s about time that they did it."

United, guaranteed a home Championship semi-final second leg on May 12, must now play out the final two games of the regular season, at Stoke City on Friday and at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday week, before the ‘real stuff’ begins again in earnest.

It was ‘job done’ for Burnley on Monday following their 2-1 win over the Blades at Turf Moor, with that loss for United also promoting Leeds.

Those results were the cue for party time for fair swathes of East Lancashire and West Yorkshire and Wilder admitted to a pang of jealousy.

He added: “I’ve had nights like that so I’m jealous and we all should be. But both teams have deserved it and been incredible and outstanding.

“Both teams have the ability to get 100 points and we have the ability on points per game to get into the 90s, so that has to be the target.

“It should not be looked at as a failure and it certainly won’t be. It’s a disappointment we have not pushed it tighter…

“At Huddersfield away, a week before the start of the season, our team had an under-21 feel... We’ve got to use (Burnley) nights like this as fuel and motivation to reset and try and get to 90 points and then see if we have a night like Leeds United and Burnley have."