Weir confident Blades will find cutting edge

David Weir says there is no blame culture at Sheffield United as the new manager looks to rekindle the positive vibes from the opening night of the season.

The Blades began the 
2013-14 campaign with a 2-1 win over Notts County in one of the six fixtures to mark the 125th anniversary of the Football League on August 2.

With Kevin McDonald pulling the strings, United looked an exciting prospect, and one capable of mounting a sustained League One promotion challenge for the third season in a row.

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Four weeks later, however, and they return to Bramall Lane still seeking a second win of the season and without McDonald, who left in a £750,000 move to divisional rivals Wolves.

United, who are hoping to attract overseas investment next week, have lost twice and drawn once since McDonald departed, as well as losing to Burton Albion in the Capital One Cup.

Their most recent disappointment was a 2-0 reverse at Bradford City last Saturday, a result that left the Blades in the bottom half of the embryonic table ahead of today’s visit of MK Dons, another fancied side.

“We don’t point the finger for missing chances or conceding goals,” said Weir.

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“We’ve got strong characters. They’re not individuals; defensively and offensively we work as a team. Everything is a unit.

“Even in the game last week we had two or three chances to score and didn’t finish them off but it will come, it’s part of the process.

“The players we have are more than capable of doing it at this level, it’s just a matter of doing it day-in, day-out and I’m confident it will come and I look forward to that day.”

Monday’s closing of the transfer window, and the sale of one of their key assets earlier this month, have led to inevitable questions from the Bramall Lane faithful about reinforcements.

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Weir has been able to spend part of the transfer cash on a replacement, capturing Oldham’s Jose Baxter for £350,00, but having had a bid rejected for Coventry striker Callum Wilson.

“The process doesn’t stop just because it’s the deadline,” said Weir. “We monitor players all year round. The gaps in the squad are the priority, obviously, but we have a list of targets and players we monitor all year round.”