Sheffield United defeat to Wolves is '˜no disgrace' insists boss Chris Wilder

Goalkeeper Simon Moore was sent off for a challenge on Diogo Jota but Wilder said: “We have got no complaints. Wolves are a fantastic side and they have done it to other teams as much as they have done it to us.

“We stuck as it and tried to find a way to get back but they had too much for us on the day. I take my hat off to the players that they have got and where they are going.

“But I have got to say when we stepped into the division people talked about this happening to us every three or four games and it has taken until February 3 for someone to do that to us.

“No-one has done that to us all season so credit to my players in terms of what they have done for the previous 25 games, and credit to the opposition and the way that they played.

“No heads dropped out there, because if heads drop that turns into a four, five or six defeat if they did and they didn’t.

“It was important that my players stuck in and they did that. It is no disgrace to lose to a team who are one of the best Championship teams there has been for a long, long time.”

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo vowed his side will keep striving to find improvements.

Two goals in the first half-hour from Ruben Neves and Jota and a second-half free-kick from Ivan Cavaleiro ensured that Wolves opened an 11-point lead at the top of the table.

Promotion looks within touching distance but Nuno said: “It is how we play to make it better: I know that I have to find solutions to make it better.

“We have a long way to go and everyone knows that. It is the philosophy from day one to now and nothing will change until the end.

“We prepare and work the same way over and over again because this is what we want: we want to build something. Nobody is going to relax.”

Nuno was pleased with how United were dismantled and he added: “It was a good performance in all aspects: offensively, defensively, with the ball, without the ball. It was a very good game.

“We have been working really well and the spirit is stronger.”

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Ruddy, Bennett, Coady, Boly, Doherty, N’Diaye, Neves, Douglas, Helder Costa (Leo Bonatini 65), Jota (White 81), Ivan Cavaleiro (Afobe 77). Unused substitutes: Batth, Enobakhare, Hause, Norris.

Sheffield United: Moore, Basham (Leonard 71), Stearman, O’Connell, Baldock, Lee Evans, Holmes (Donaldson 71), Fleck, Stevens, Clarke, Wilson (Eastwood 76). Unused substitutes: Lundstram, Sharp, Duffy, Lafferty.

Referee: D Bond (Lancashire).