Chris Wilder: Reviving Sheffield United fortunes even tougher than I thought

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder admitted he may have underestimated the sheer size of the task he faces back at Bramall Lane.

Wilder’s return as Blades boss was ruined by Isaac Olaofe’s 90th-minute winner for Charlton as the visitors snatched a 1-0 victory.

Wilder was warmly greeted when he was introduced to the home crowd before kick-off, having agreed to come back for a third spell in charge earlier this week, replacing Ruben Selles, but he could not inspire a change in his side’s fortunes as they slumped to a sixth straight Championship defeat.

He said: “Not the homecoming from a results point of view and performance point of view.

“Maybe I underestimated the amount of work that we need to do as well. Just expect a lot more.

“There’s a little bit of a fragility about us at the moment. Maybe I shouldn’t have underestimated that. Chaotic at times, especially second half. No real control in the game.

“There’s some stuff that was okay as a period in the first half for 20-25 minutes that, if we would have produced that for 75 per cent of the game then I think we’d have been okay, but we sort of dropped off towards the back end of the first half.

“One of the things we did say at half-time was, you know, a clean sheet is an absolute must for us off the back of the results that we’ve had and the goal goes in with a catalogue of really poor goals that have been conceded so far.

“They want to do so well and they want to make it happen so much. There has to be that calmness to our play and there wasn’t.

“It felt very rushed. We got into good positions and then turned the ball over and allowed them to counter on us. We never really played with that fluidity or control that we needed.

“We’ve got to find a way to get out of this situation pretty quickly, because stats don’t lie. The league table doesn’t lie at the moment and we are that team that’s at the bottom of the division for a reason.”

Charlton boss Nathan Jones felt his side’s victory was fully deserved.

The visitors had the better chances, with United keeper Michael Cooper making a couple of fine saves.

The goal came when James Bree squared the ball to Olaofe inside the area and the striker side-footed his finish into the net to spark wild celebrations in front of the visiting fans.

Jones said: “It was an excellent win and I thought we deserved it. This is Sheffield United away, it’s a fantastic football club, a full house, a returning manager who’s been synonymous with success here.

“To put in that level of performance I thought was outstanding, it really was. First half I thought we were the better team, we had the better chances.

“We had a one or two on the counter, we had a really good opportunity, two good opportunities from second phase in terms of the keeper made a great save, then we could have scored.

“We can’t affect anything that any other club does. We have to be the best version of ourselves. And if we’re that, and someone is better than us, I’ll hold my hands up.

“If we are the best versions of ourselves, then someone beats us, then I’ll be the first to come here and congratulate them. But I thought we were good today. It was a perfect away performance.”