Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder rejected the idea that his players are suffering from “mental fatigue” after their 2-1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle, which has significantly damaged their automatic promotion hopes.
The Blades are now five points behind joint leaders Burnley and Leeds with just four games remaining, and it would take a remarkable turnaround for them to overtake one of the two sides. Wilder believes that his team controlled the game against Plymouth, particularly in the second half, but failed to capitalize on their chances.
“We had enough opportunities, and we got the ball into the areas we wanted to get it into, but you’ve got to go and get that second goal,” Wilder said. “I never felt that they were mentally tired, and didn’t look it. We weren’t on the ropes for any part of that game.”
Wilder attributed the defeat to a lack of quality and ambition in his team’s play, rather than mental fatigue. “It’s just come from nowhere,” he said. “Ty should score when he goes through, to kill the noise again and win the game. He doesn’t.”
The Blades return to action on Good Friday against Cardiff City, looking to arrest their recent slump in form. However, Wilder acknowledged that it may be too little, too late, saying, “We put ourselves in a great position after the Coventry game, and basically, we’ve let it slip. So, we have to own that and take responsibility for a really poor week in terms of results.”
