Colchester United v Sheffield United: Blades continue to look up rather than down

The Blades travel to Colchester United tonight hoping to cement further their grip on second place.

A win in Essex would move United four points clear of Steel City rivals Sheffield Wednesday ahead of the final 10 games with Huddersfield Town a further three points adrift in fourth place.

Wilson, however, is adamant that his players are looking up and not down as they look to overhaul Charlton’s 10-point advantage.

The United manager said: “With 11 games to go, our destiny is in our own hands but there are going to be lots of twists and turns yet.

“Certainly, if we can get another three points at Colchester it will make it more interesting at the top of the table.

“We are not looking over our shoulder at what is behind us. Instead, we are focusing on catching Charlton, who are the only team above us.

“I am not surprised Charlton are having a bit of a wobble. After all, up until the last couple of games they had come this far without suffering any kind of dip in form.

“It is a long and gruelling season at this level and it is always going to be a tall order for anyone to go 46 games without having a blip. It is difficult to continue the same high standards every week.”

After back-to-back defeats against Oldham Athletic and Walsall, United responded admirably to conceding ground to their promotion rivals by beating Brentford 2-0 at Griffin Park on Saturday.

Wilson added: “One of the big strengths in our dressing room is the ability of the players to bounce back from disappointments and they certainly underlined their strength of character on Saturday.

“The pressure was on them after a couple of disappointing results. But their application, character and determination were simply superb. The players answered a lot of questions that were being thrown at them.”

Wilson has rubbished speculation Burnley are about to sign Lee Williamson on loan. The 29-year-old, with eight goals to his name in 35 games this season, will be out of contract in the summer.

However, when asked about Burnley’s possible interest, Wilson said: “There is no chance of Lee leaving so he is going nowhere.”

Williamson joined United for £500,000 from Watford in 2009.

Last six games: Colchester United LDDWWD, Sheffield United WLWLLW.

Referee: T Kettle (Rutland).

Last time: Colchester United 2 Sheffield United 2; August 11, 2007; League One.