Wilder after Saints defeat: ‘A couple of players need to go’
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder says ‘a couple of players need to go’ after their 2-0 defeat to Southampton.
The Blades went behind in the first half as Ethan Ampadu brought down Nathan Tella in the box.
James Ward-Prowse scored the resultant penalty to get Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men off to a good start.
Early losers: Arsenal, Leno and mistake-ridden Xhaka
In the 49th minute former Sheff Utd man Che Adams scored a wonder strike to double their lead.
It left Wilder and United with little hope of a comeback as they failed to manage much of an attacking threat.
Reacting to the loss, Wilder said: “We didn’t deserve anything from the game. We had more of the ball than we’ve had for quite a while, but second half the second goal killed us.
“We had possession at the top of the pitch, it comes back, and a lack of quality, a mis-timed tackle, we give it away again – it’s another one of three, four and five mistakes. You can’t let one mistake go to another, and we’ve done that too many times. I don’t really have an answer for anybody, any of the players.
“Yep, we’ve opened up, they could’ve taken us from two to three to four, Aaron [Ramsdale]’s made sure it hasn’t happened, but we have to be at our best, full-tilt, the best players have got to be playing to the best of our abilities.”
The defeat leaves Sheff Utd with little hope of a relegation escape. They’re now preparing for life in the Championship next season.
Ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, Wilder stated that a few players ‘need to go’.
Here’s what he said: “The club will be back but there’s so many things that we need to address to move forward.
“It needs a bit of a shake-up in terms of a few bodies going out and a few bodies coming in.
“We need to keep our best players because when I’ve got them that plays a huge part. But there’s also a couple that need to go at the end of the season. I’d like to shake it up more quickly but obviously there’s rules and regulations for that.”