Speed is anxious to retain Reid after missing defensive target

Speed was keen to re-sign de Laet, who impressed on loan last month, but the Belgian international has opted instead to join Championship rivals Preston North End on a 28-day loan.

"Obviously, I am disappointed," Speed admitted. "But we will have to keep looking because if we lose Kyle Bartley or Nyron Nosworthy, we are struggling."

De Laet's decision to join struggling Preston ahead of the Blades will have been influenced by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson – whose son Darren is in charge at Deepdale and under growing pressure due to his side's current position at bottom of the Championship table.

Speed, whose side entertain Crystal Palace at Bramall Lane on Saturday, is still in negotiations with Sunderland manager Steve Bruce over the services of Republic of Ireland international Reid.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest player, 28, has made an immediate impact since joining the Blades on a one- month's loan and scored the only goal of the game in last weekend's 1-0 victory away at Millwall.

His initial deal expires after next week's trip to Bristol City but Speed has made no secret of his desire to keep the player for as long as possible.

Keeping his cards close to his chest, Speed said: "I have spoken to Steve Bruce briefly and it is encouraging. But what was said is private."

Although the Blades have picked up four points from their last two games, Speed is taking nothing for granted and says there is still plenty of room for improvement.

"I don't really think we have turned a corner yet – but we are peeping around it," he reflected. "We have not conceded a goal from open play in a while but we need to create more chances and score more goals. If I had one criticism of the performance at Millwall, it is that we could have gone on and scored a second goal. But, the way things have gone, it is understandable that they lacked a bit of confidence in that respect."

The Blades are two points clear of the relegation zone but Speed insists that he is focusing on performances rather than league positions.

"I am just concentrating on the next game and trying to get a little bit of run together," he said. "I don't take too much notice of the league table yet. If we were top of the league I probably would – but at the moment we are not. We have never been down or feeling sorry ourselves and there has always been optimism around. I am very positive and so are the boys. We need to build on what we have got in the last two games."

With Saturday's game being shown live on TV, the Blades have slashed admission prices to 10 and 5 in a bid to prop up their attendance. Gates have dropped for two consecutive games and the club has picked up only four points from the last six games at home. The Blades have also decided to scrap a policy of banning flags and banners inside the stadium on Saturday in another move to bolster the atmosphere. However, all flags need a safety certificate and the club has announced times when these can be issued over the next three days. For more details visit www.sufc.co.uk

Speed said: "We all know what a difference our fans make and I would hope that it could just give us the edge. We are traditionally very strong at home and we need to get Bramall Lane back to being a fortress."

Palace will be seeking a third consecutive victory on Saturday and have climbed off the bottom of the table thanks to back-to-back home wins over Watford and Coventry City.

"It's going to be a tough game because Palace are in a good run of form with some good players," said Speed. "They seem to have turned it around but we have to concentrate on ourselves and make sure we get our home form on the right track."

Speed's former Newcastle United team-mate Darren Ambrose is one of the key players for the Eagles and has bagged three goals in the last two games.

Ambrose, 26, joined Newcastle in a 1m deal from Ipswich Town as a teenager but made only 18 league starts before being sold to Charlton for 700,000 two years later. "Darren can still play in the Premier League again," said Speed.

"He has a good eye for a goal and a great right foot."

Jamaican international defender Claude Davis, who played for the Blades in the Premier League three years ago, is also in the Palace line-up.