Chris Wilder tells Sheffield United fans: We will get better in second half of the season

They lost their last game of 2023 2-0 to a Manchester City team who utterly dominated the ball whilst playing in a low gear.

But in his post-match debrief, Wilder reflected on the six games he has overseen since returning in December, and the spirit shown in limiting City to four shots on target fed into the narrative.

His side are at Gillingham in the FA Cup on Saturday but a winter break means they do not play again in the Premier League until January 21, by when he hopes to have at least started shuffling his pack in the transfer window.

"If you asked every Sheffield United supporter over the last six games what they would have taken, it is that the team has fight in them," said Wilder after four points from that sequence.

"We did a bit in the morning about the journey of players, where they started. We talked about Alfreton and Buxton, Knilly (Alan Knill) had Farsley Celtic, Wes (Foderingham) Crawley, Jack Lester Walsall at home, George (Baldock) Doncaster away and Oli Mac (McBurnie) a Bradford game.

"I enjoyed watching my team. These are great experiences for the young players, (Will) Osula running up against (Manuel) Akanji and Nathan Ake, Andre Brooks a Sheffield boy up against one of his heroes in Kyle Walker."

If a game against the world champions could be written off, the Blades need to pick up points in the last 18 of the league season, with a seven-point gap to close.

"If you look at my teams we have always got stronger in the second half of the season," said Wilder. "Time has been at a premium and we have to make sure we use this time (in January) really well to make us better."