Sheffield United positives after Championship play-off reset starts with win at Stoke City

Maybe it is clutching at straws, but at least in falling short of automatic promotion a couple of games before the end of the season, the Blades have time to refresh minds and bodies, and build a bit of confidence and momentum ahead of a trip to Ashton Gate, Coventry Arena, The New Den, Ewood Park or at a real push the Riverside on May 8.

A 2-0 win at Stoke City was a good step in that direction.

Gustavo Hamer got a night off, watching from the away end with the noisy travelling contingent.

Rob Holding got a full game of senior football for the first time since September 2023.

Kieffer Moore and Vinicius Souza got a little closer to full fitness after recent injuries.

Sam McCallum got only his second goal for Sheffield United, substitute Andre Brooks his third.

Jefferson Caceres, the 22-year-old Peruvian signed by artificial intelligence in February, got to see what a Championship game looks and feels like from the bench.

Rhian Brewster got a whack through his Achilles and a stamp on the shin from a Stoke side who looked more determined to hurt the Blades physically than in a footballing sense, but you cannot have it all. He was able to play for 85 minutes.

Chris Wilder got to see how Moore and Tyrese Campbell played together as a starting pair – the only other time it has happened, quirkily, was at home to Stoke in October – and the evening finished with a bit of back five practice.

"There's been an energy about the players and a clarity, which in a way is good for us," said Wilder.

"Of course I would have loved to have taken it to the last game but it does give us that clarity and the chance to do what we've done.

"But I don't want to take away from (the fact) we're here to win games of football and recently we haven't done that enough.

"It would be great if we finished the season off on a high and used that energy and momentum to go into the play-offs."

The Blades manager says his team for the semi-final first leg, wherever it is, is still to be picked.

Moore showed how effective he can be in a 4-4-2, but was unable to ink his name in with a goal. He has work to do at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

Right-back has looked up for grabs throughout the second half of the season, and Femi Seriki did his chances no harm.

McCallum has a higher bar to clear on the left but his exquisite ball down the line from Callum O'Hare, more than the header bundled in from the corner that resulted, did him no harm.

Sydie Peck came off the bench to warn Hamza Choudhury if he wants to start, it might have to be on the right of defence. Peck burst down the right and put in the wonderful ball substitute Brooks tapped in.

Holding muddied the water at centre-back but with Anel Ahmedhodzic held back until the 90th minute, Jack Robinson was good too after pre-Easter wobbles.

O'Hare put down a lively marker in a battle with Brewster, the rested Hamer, Ben Brereton Diaz and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi for most likely three places. Four-two-three-one seems likely to stay, certainly from the off.

"We went a nice and narrow 4-4-2 (in the) second half and countered pretty well," reflected the manager.

"It would have been great to get a third but maybe the game didn't deserve a 3-0 because it was a tight game.

"We went into 5-3-2 late on to see the game out.

"Everybody's got a Plan B but we need to make sure we execute the Plan A as well as we possibly can because it's got us into this situation with 28 wins.

"The Plan A is okay, we just need to tighten it up a little bit. We were a bit loose at times on Friday, turning the ball over, and the crowd caught onto that."

Others can confuse the matter further on Saturday, just hopefully not by getting injured or suspended.

"That was a challenge I spoke to the players about," said Wilder. "They're a competitive group.

"Do you want to be sat in the stand in those play-off games? You've got an opportunity to stake a claim.

"Yeah, it was a changed team but I thought Holding's performance was really strong, Femi gives us what Femi gives us as a young player, Rhian's produced a decent performance, Kieffer's come back into the frame as well.

"We needed to (build on) a decent performance at Burnley but getting a good result.

"We've got big decisions to make going into Saturday and then we'll have the decisions we've had all season to make sure the manager picks the right team for the play-offs."