Sheffield United remain level-headed as Leeds United target positive response

SHEFFIELD UNITED manager Chris Wilder insists the club’s players will take their lead from him in remaining level-headed despite the Premier League beckoning.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder (Picture: James Wilson/Sportimage).Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder (Picture: James Wilson/Sportimage).
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder (Picture: James Wilson/Sportimage).

The Blades host already relegated Ipswich Town today knowing victory would effectively seal automatic promotion.

Leeds United, the only club who can pip Wilder’s United to second place, trail their South Yorkshire rivals by three points with two games remaining, but have a hugely inferior goal difference.

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It means even a win for Leeds tomorrow lunch-time at home to Aston Villa is unlikely to be enough providing the Blades take all three points against rock-bottom Ipswich at a sold-out Bramall Lane.

“You can’t avoid it,” said Wilder to The Yorkshire Post about the prospect of clinching a passport to the top flight. “It is just there, isn’t it?

“There is fantastic excitement around the city, as you would expect in the red and white half. We are looking at a full-house and season ticket sales, stuff like that, are going well.

“There is an obvious lift in excitement, especially connected to such an important game as this one. But there is also an acceptance among the players that it is about producing another good performance.

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“For us to get a result we have to play at our maximum, and that is not being disrespectful to the players. They know they have to do it to get the results which have got them into this position.

Marcelo Bielsa, pictured during Leeds United's defeat to brentford at Griffin Park.
 Picture: Bruce RollinsonMarcelo Bielsa, pictured during Leeds United's defeat to brentford at Griffin Park.
 Picture: Bruce Rollinson
Marcelo Bielsa, pictured during Leeds United's defeat to brentford at Griffin Park. Picture: Bruce Rollinson

“After the (Hull City) game (on Monday, which United won 3-0) there were no champagne corks popping or anything like that. And why would there be?

“They take their lead from me, I think. They understand where I am coming from on things and there are others in that dressing room who think the same way as well.

“Attitude is so important to us when we bring players in. There are characters in the dressing room and there are leaders in there.

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“There are leaders who aren’t even playing at the moment, but they are sending out the same message.”

As Blades supporters prepare for a tea-time clash with Ipswich that is expected to turn into a party, the mood up the M1 at Elland Road could not be more contrasting.

A truly shocking Easter saw Leeds surrender the initiative in the race for second place via back-to-back defeats against Wigan Athletic and Brentford.

It turned what had been a three-point lead over Sheffield United with four games to play into a three-point deficit that is effectively four thanks to a goal difference that is 11 worse than that of the Bramall Lane club.

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Head coach Marcelo Bielsa wants his side to harness those feelings of disappointment into a positive response against Villa.

“When you receive a blow,” said the Argentinian, “to ignore the consequences is not the right path. Pain has a natural process and if you want to hide this it is meaningless

“You can feel only one way (disappointed) and we feel this way. The way the players feel is normal and if they did not feel that way then we would be worried about it.

“But, of course, we need to play a game that would build our optimism and winning on Sunday would be something good in that respect.”

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If Leeds do miss out on promotion supporters will point to the failure in January to get the deal for Swansea City’s Daniel James over the line.

Bielsa, however, insists no more could have been done by the club after the Swans pulled the plug at the last moment on deadline day.

“I don’t have any criticism to make to anyone,” said the 63-year-old, who yesterday rebuffed questions about his future beyond this summer.

“Everything that could be done has been done. You know that in January James was going to come and he didn’t come. I am not underlying the importance of losing James, I am underlying the struggles of getting James.

“I think the club did everything that it could do – more than it could do to find the solutions.

“With James or without him, we should have finished first or second, without any doubt.”