Scunthorpe United v Sheffield United: Iron test awaiting Adams as he searches for first Blades victory

Adams is still without a victory after 10 games in charge at Bramall Lane and pressure is mounting ahead of tonight’s trip to fellow strugglers Scunthorpe United.

The Blades are five points adrift of safety in the Championship relegation zone and urgently need a win to kickstart a bid for survival.

Adams, who is the fourth manager of the club this season, said: “This is the longest I have gone without a win but I know we are going to win a game of football eventually. If we don’t, I will have to suffer the consequences, simple as that, and whatever they may be. That won’t be a decision that I take.”

The Blades were sitting two points clear of the relegation zone when Adams arrived on December 30 but have picked up only four points since.

Former manager Dave ‘Harry’ Bassett, 66, has even been coaxed out of retirement to try and help ease the burden on Adams’s shoulders.

Bassett’s ‘golden era’ as manager of the Blades started in similar circumstances but the club dropped down to the third tier in 1988 before winning back-to-back promotions to the Premier League.

Adams, however, insists that relegation will not help the club this time around.

“Nobody has mentioned that to me and it is certainly not on the agenda,” he said. “I don’t see the benefit of that at all. There are things that are needed to be done in the club and, with myself and Harry’s experience, that’s what we will be trying to do. Change the club. We have been looking at every aspect of the club – from the personnel to the way we do things here.”

Although recent results have pushed the club down the table, Adams has been encouraged by his side’s performances and feels the players are giving 100 per cent.

“I would love to be able to say ‘the players have let me and the club down’ but everyone can see they are giving it their all,” he said. “What do people want us to do? Give up, stop trying? That’s not going to happen while I am in charge.

“I am not enjoying it but I am not panicking. The positives I take are that we are now a competitive team, we are not easily beaten, we keep going, and we are looking a lot more solid. We have just got to find ways of breaking teams down.

“I am glad the focus is on me rather than the team,” he added. “I don’t mind taking it. Normally, I don’t read the newspapers but I saw a headline this morning saying “Adams on the brink!” On the brink of what? I am on the brink of trying to win a game of football. That’s all I am on the brink of.

“I don’t get the impression from the people in charge that they are looking to make change but, obviously, I am not daft, I know I have got to win a game sooner rather than later.”

Adams, 49, saved both Fulham and Coventry City from relegation earlier in his managerial career and transformed the fortunes of Brighton and Hove Albion in League Two.

Looking back on his experiences, he said: “My longest period without a win was probably in the Premier League with Leicester. That can happen to the best of managers in there.

“When I was at Brighton, we went a long time (nine games) without winning. It looked like I was going to get the sack when we went to Chester and won 7-1. We went the rest of that season (13 games) undefeated and won the league the year after.”

Adams has made a minimum of four changes to his side in each of the last three games, most enforced due to injury, but admits that the inability to field a settled side is not helping the situation.

“You always see a struggling manager or a struggling club when he is having to change formation, tactics, personnel,” he said. “Changes tell you a lot about how a club is.

“We can’t get the same 11 out at any one time because we are always struggling with fitness and injury. Until we get a settled side, we are always going to be a team that has got problems.”

Defender Shane Lowry (thigh), midfielder Lee Williamson (back) and striker Richard Cresswell (knee) are the latest doubts for tonight’s game along with on-loan striker Sam Vokes who missed the Palace game with a hamstring injury.

Scunthorpe, who enjoyed a 4-0 victory at Bramall Lane back in September, had suffered seven defeats in eight games prior to a shock victory over second-placed Nottingham Forest six days ago. The Iron followed that up with a goalless draw against Derby County last weekend.

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Last six games: Scunthorpe DLLLWD, Sheff United LLLDDL

Last time: Scunthorpe 3 Sheff United 1; October 17, 2009, Championship.

Referee: SJ Tanner (Somerset).