Sheffield United: Staying in the race is the priority for Adkins

NIGEL ADKINS wants his Sheffield United side to be middle men - by putting themselves on an upwardly mobile course between now and January.
Nigel AdkinsNigel Adkins
Nigel Adkins

The first third of the season has just been completed, with the room for improvement at the eighth-placed Blades self-evident. They are eight points behind League One leaders Walsall ahead of their home encounter with Southend United tomorrow.

For a side who were promotion favourites before a ball was kicked, it is a fairly underwhelming and ordinary performance thus far.

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But Adkins is preaching the importance of staying in the race until January in the middle part of a gruelling nine-month marathon campaign, when changes of personnel in the transfer market can irrevocably boost a promotion aspirant and provide impetus.

Adkins said: “I have always said, if you can just stay in the race until January because then the window opens.

“You will always find in December that there’s an unsettling period at all football clubs in respect of the transfer window opening in January.

“All through December, we will get linked with a player joining us and leaving us and that unsettles players at times and that is the nature of it.

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“For me, it’s about making sure we go all the way to January still in the race. And then, you have a situation where you can move things around and then at the end of January, you make sure you are still in that race to go for top spot.”

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