Sheffield United 0 Millwall 1: Boos ring out at Bramall Lane as pressure intensifies on Ruben Selles after fourth loss in four

Ruben Selles finds himself in that position. There is not much love for him on show among sections of Sheffield United’s support at the minute.

In fairness, his side deserved a point for their hearty rally late on. But the damage had been done earlier, thanks to the only goal of the game seven minutes before the interval from Luke Cundle. A poor concession in a poor half.

United fronted up in the second period. But akin to many sides who are toiling in early season, they just had no luck whatsoever.

Four games into the new season in league and cup, and the Blades have lost them all and Selles - more especially given the person whom he replaced - is hardly flavour of the month and on a sticky wicket already at a venue which used to stage first-class cricket.

Unitedites had interest in both team line-ups. The home one saw Ben Godfrey handed an immediate debut following his season-long loan move from Serie A side Atalanta.

The Yorkshireman’s previous competitive appearance was in late April while on loan at Ipswich Town.

Tom Cannon was also elevated to the starting XI, while the omission of Blades target Japhet Tanganga from the visiting line-up was an understandable talking point and precursor to a fresh bout of speculation.

Tanganga reportedly has a release clause for £1.2m, which can only be activated by Premier League clubs.

Should United be successful in their pursuit of the 26-year-old, they will have to pay considerably more.

Operating in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Cannon started on the right for United.

It was a half which showcased the hosts for what they are at the minute, a side who are having clear issues as they struggle to find their way into the new season in front of a watching home crowd who were decidedly edgy.

Millwall had the better of it and made their big opportunity count on 38 minutes.

In the main, United had looked stronger from a defensive sense and had plugged the gaps from a fortnight earlier. Until then.

A dreadful concession spoiled that and Millwall went close to a second moments before the break, which was the precursor to loud boos.

The goal was very preventable. United failed to clear their lines and Casper De Norre headed the ball back towards the box.

It should have been dealt with but wasn’t. Mihailo Ivanovic won a header too easily and Cundle was left unchecked to ghost in and lash the ball home.

Moments earlier, the midfielder had gone close with the Lions’ hitherto best moment when his curler was tipped over by Michael Cooper after he was afforded too much space from Ryan Leonard’s cutback.

The ex-Blade had also fired a half-decent early opportunity off target and Camiel Neghli wasn’t too far away either with a strike from distance.

At the other end, attacking the Kop in the first half, the hosts were limited to very little and looked like a side whose confidence is fairly low at the minute. Aside from a few little flashes from Louie Barry and Callum O’Hare, there was next to nothing to report sadly. Millwall’s Tanganga-less defence had it relatively easy.

The half-time chant among the visiting fans was brazen. ‘Japhet, what’s the score’.

In fairness, it could had been worse for United, with a deflected strike from Josh Coburn, which hit Tyler Bindon, firing inches wide ahead of the whistle.

“We need your help” imploded the stadium announcer at the start of a second half which had the potential to get toxic if Millwall grabbed an early second.

United needed something and it almost came.

Burrows found Barry, the one who looked most likely from a home perspective, down the left channel. He cut inside from the left and saw his angled shot yield a fine one-handed save from the under-worked Steven Benda. An instant chorus of ‘We’ve had a shot’ arrived from the Kop.

Soon after, Sydie Peck’s header was cleared off the line. Signs of life at last.

The mood of Unitedites remained febrile. Thankfully, Ivanovic spurned a decent chance for a second after being played in by Coburn, with his tame shot easy for Cooper.

Soon after, Cannon’s afternoon ended ignominiously. He was substituted, the cue for ironic cheers from many home followers.

It was turning into a real character test for those on the pitch in red and white.

O’Hare wasn’t hiding and almost levelled with a curling strike after neat play with replacement Andre Brooks.

The hosts then went even closer to restoring parity when good work by Barry and Hamer on the left ended in the latter seeing his precision curler draw an outstanding full-stretch save from Benda.

Refreshingly, this was better from those in home jerseys with Millwall starting to hold on a bit.

Burrows then rattled the post after tenacity from Hamer.

It just won’t go for United at the minute, reinforced when Campbell’s effort was cleared off the line by Tristan Crama after Brooks cushioned a volleyed cross across goal from Ryan One’s initial centre.

Sheffield United: M Cooper; Godfrey, Bindon (Seriki 81), Robinson, Burrows; Hamer, Peck, Cannon (Brooks 59), O’Hare, Barry (One 81); Campbell. Substitutes unused: Davies, McCallum, Soumare, Ukaki, Norrington-Davies, Marsh.

Millwall: Benda; Leonard, Crama, J Cooper, Sturge, Luongo, Neghli (Emakhu 70), De Norre, Cundle (Harding 85); Coburn (Nisbet 85) , Ivanovic (Kelly 79). Substitutes unused: Crocombe, Mayor, Grant, Matthews, Howland.

Referee: J Busby (Oxon)

Attendance: 26,835 (1,583 Millwall supporters)