Sheffield United’s players have been warned to expect the hardest pre-season of their careers when they report back to Shirecliffe at the end of their summer breaks.
The Blades were relegated from the Premier League with just 16 points last season but manager Chris Wilder insists there can be no feeling sorry for themselves as he looks to make a flying start to life back in the Championship.
“They’ve had all their individual meetings and they know what it’s going to look like,” he said of the plans for pre-season.
“Get ready, don’t underestimate what this is going to be like because we’ve got to set the bar high this summer in everything we do and get back to the standards.
“If they fall by the wayside, they’ll not be involved.
“I’m sure the characteristics of the players I’ve got now, the (Jack) Robinsons, the (Jayden) Bogles, the (Gustavo) Hamers, they’ll love those challenges. I think they’re really looking forward to it.
“They have to recuperate and get their heads right but on the first day of pre-season we’ll be bright and buzzing and back at it.”
Too often last season – especially in the home games at the start of 2024 – the Blades seemed to allow disappointments to get the better of them. It is not something the manager will stand for again, he says.
“You can’t be a victim,” warned Wilder, pictured. “Nobody can feel sorry for themselves.
“I don’t think the team has looked as if it’s felt sorry for itself on the pitch, it’s only sometimes when things go against you that you think, ‘Come on, you need to raise yourselves.’
“The sign of a good player is not when the sun’s shining, it’s when it’s raining and things are going against you. That’s when you come through those periods. They have to give themselves a shake.
“The culture will be a reset, it’s going to be a tough, demanding pre-season – possibly the toughest they’ve ever encountered. That isn’t just running but the demands of getting back to those standards people have talked about where every day was a challenge and not a day to tick of. Then there’s demands I’m going to be putting on them.”
Championship fixtures are released on June 26.
