Sheffield United board on play-offs defeat: 'It will not deter us, dampen our enthusiasm or change our mission to bring consistent top-flight football to the city of Sheffield'

Manager Chris Wilder said at the weekend the club's co-owners were "in it for the long haul" and their statement appears to back that up.

They have promised to regroup and continue working on the "foundations" they have been addressing since buying the club from Abdullah bin Mosaad Al Saud at Christmas.

"The entire organisation, our staff, players, and everyone behind the scenes performed tremendously to reach Wembley in the first place," they stressed in a statement signed by directors Steven Rosen, Helmy Eltoukhy, Joe Russo, Len Komoroski, Terry Ahern, Pejman Nozad and Stephen Bettis. "We overcame a points deduction and an injury crisis, and this spirit and resilience will continue to serve us well.

"Achieving promotion from this division never comes easy but we can assure you this difficult defeat will not define us. This is a setback but it is just that: a setback. It will not deter us, dampen our enthusiasm or change our mission to bring consistent top-flight football to the city of Sheffield.

"At Wembley last week we saw the beating heart of our city and hearing the noise that's propelled the team since August was something we won't forget.

"Our job now as custodians of this incredible club is to regroup, reset and refocus and make sure that our setback on Saturday only serves as a catalyst to make us stronger in the future. We are all fired up to do that and confident in our plan to build a more modern and stronger club.

"We will do this by continuing the forward thinking work we have already begun to address some of the foundations at the club that underpin our ability to succeed.

"When we announced the takeover in December, we said we would begin work to modernise every single aspect of Sheffield United to make sure it is able to compete in the Premier League on a regular basis.

"And yes we first need to get there, but once we are we want to end the cycle of boom and bust.

"We are working tirelessly to become stronger in the crucial area of recruitment. We will do this by using data and analytics far more effectively to recruit the best and brightest talent.

"We are also moving forward with our bold ambitions to transform player welfare and medical care in a market-leading way; significantly upgrade the training ground and player facilities; and continue to ensure our academy is as strong as possible."