Ever since Sheffield United returned to Bramall Lane in December, Chris Wilder has grown more and more irritated with player availability. As a result, he has acknowledged that the team needs to improve the fitness levels of their squad moving ahead. On Saturday, the Blades were within minutes away from a thrilling away victory at Bournemouth but a late equalizer forced them to return north empty-handed.
With a 2-0 lead, United was in control of the match thanks to a promising forward combination of Ben Brereton Diaz and Oli McBurnie. However, McBurnie’s injury kept him from playing for the full 90 minutes, and Brereton Diaz had to substitute himself with 10 minutes remaining due to a hamstring problem. Senior strikers Rhian Brewster and Cameron Archer were both unavailable due to injury, thus without McBurnie’s defensive prowess, United gave up two goals within the box and lost control of the match when raw rookie Will Osula entered the game off the bench.
While Jayden Bogle and Anel Ahmedhodzic were also limited in the amount of minutes they could play, George Baldock was not expected to play the entire game and sustain a significant injury during his first start of the season following a recent absence due to injury. Fitness has been a recurring problem in recent months. The manager acknowledged that not even the current three-week international break will be sufficient to quickly improve matters on that front, with Wilder acknowledging he is being forced to make “physical substitutions” rather than for tactical reasons.
“You basically can’t do anything during the season,” Wilder admitted. “It’s virtually impossible. The players are where they are now and you don’t get enough time, especially after a Premier League game. It’s no good us now running the nuts off the players on Monday morning, to try and get more into them, in March. So it’s something we have to look at and modify and adjust and try and get through but it’s something we have to be better at as a football club in the medium and long term.
“It’s not all about luck, there is a reason behind it. I could talk all day about the moving parts but it’s something we have to get right. In terms of continuity, working as a unit and working on systems. ‘He’s available, he can’t train today, he needs a recovery day, he’s out for two weeks.’ It’s continually getting chucked at you.
“Even to the extent of Jayden’s wife giving birth so he didn’t train with us. I get that, he has to do what he has to do, but certain bits like that you have to deal with. Baldock coming in, Oli Arblaster playing his first game, Tom Davies coming back in. McBurnie, Anel, Brereton Diaz. There are six or seven players you’re continually looking at in a match day XI or 18 from a fitness point of view.”
United are next in action on March 30, at home to Fulham, after this weekend’s scheduled trip to Manchester United was postponed owing to their progress in the FA Cup.
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