Sheffield United and Adkins are now at the crossroads

The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Westminster words are still being disseminated by the country, although Adkins probably has not noticed, with the Blades chief likely to have been absorbed in thought with pressing matters closer to home.

But just as Osborne spoke of difficult decisions, so Adkins is seeking to come up with solutions to kick-start the Blades’ moribund campaign, which sees them reside in 12th place in League One – 12 points behind leaders Coventry.

Expect some casualties along the way, with Adkins having made no bones about the fact that he feels that the club’s squad is bloated and intimating that it needs to be more streamlined and meaner.

An inadequate start to 2015-16 was seriously compounded by an at times excruciatingly-painful 4-2 home defeat to lowly Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday night, with the visitors becoming the ninth side to triumph at Bramall Lane this calendar year.

The result – the Shrews became the first visiting side to score four times at S2 since Exeter’s 4-4 draw in October, 2011 – leaves the Blades’ campaign positioned at a crossroads, with Adkins assigned with finding the answers to prevent a drama lurching into a full-blown crisis.

To his credit, Adkins is not shying away from the situation or from the fact that solutions must be found amid the fall-out of a night he labelled as ‘unacceptable’.

Acknowledging a test of character ahead, Adkins said: “It is for everybody. We are in a situation where we want to be further up the division.

“We have had a heavy defeat. On the back of this, there’s consequences that will come about from the result and I will need time to reflect upon that and go to the next game.

“That’s important as I have to find the solutions to help us keep moving forward. It was not acceptable or what we are after.

“You can’t hide away from the fact that you can’t concede four goals in a game when you want to be challenging. You cannot concede four goals at home. It was very disappointing.”

Blades supporters, at certain junctures, also let the players know in no uncertain terms that the fare on offer on Tuesday night was not just unpalatable but wholly unsatisfactory.

Cries of ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt’ arrived shortly after Shrewsbury’s fourth goal, with earlier cries of ‘What a load of rubbish’ were also audible.

Adkins, watching events unfold on the touchline, admits he understood the sense of discontent among sections of supporters, stomaching another difficult campaign, United’s fifth at this level, lest we forget.

Adkins added: “It’s not nice for the players. But I have got total empathy with the supporters as we have been in this division for too many years and we want to see winning football.

“There is a lot of frustration everywhere. I need to find a solution to get the football club back to where it needs to be to get ourselves out of the division.”

The devilish quirks of the fixture list are such that the Blades’ next port of call is another side having a grim time of it in neighbours Barnsley, who head into Saturday’s derby on the back of nine defeats from their last 10 league fixtures.

As well as ensuring that fragile minds start to heal in the wake of a torrid midweek episode, Adkins admits that the onus is also on the dressing room to draw upon their reservoirs of character, individually and collectively, to start to repair the damage following a fraught night and an inauspicious campaign.

One thing is for sure, there will be no hiding place for the visitors at Oakwell, watched by a travelling support entitled not to just expect a response, but demand it.

Adkins can also be assured of another thing. Namely that he will know even more about his Blades charges come the final whistle on Saturday as he plots what he hopes will be a successful future and finds out who can be counted upon along the journey.

Adkins, who showed his ruthless side by bringing off three players at the interval on Tuesday with Neill Collins, Louis Reed and Jose Baxter all replaced, added: “We have players here who should be good enough at this level to go out and win games of football. Everyone has to look deeply inside themselves as to why we are in the situation that we are.

“You have to respond if you want to be at this club. You need to perform in the arena. That is where you are measured – game-day – and we’ve got to get it right.

“We need to take stock and get ready to go again now.

“That’s the beauty of football, it’s the next game. Feeling sorry for yourself gets you nowhere and you need a grit and resilience and, for me, I’ve got to go and find that among the players.”