'Go home' - Chris Wilder sends brutally honest message to Sheffield United fans ahead of Millwall

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has blasted a section of his own club’s supporters ahead of the Blades’ Championship clash with Millwall on Tuesday night. Wilder’s men are currently on course to win automatic promotion, though it is mightily tight at the top after another weekend of surprising results.

The Blades lost to strugglers Oxford United, but Leeds United failed to capitalise, and Burnley are now top, one point ahead of Sheffield United and two ahead of Leeds United.

After United’s shock defeat to Oxford, a section of their fans were verbally abusive to the players and staff, and even days after, Wilder is furious with those fans, telling them to get aboard or stay home ahead of Tuesday night’s clash with Millwall.

“I was speaking to my media guy before and he was telling me to stay away from it, but I’ll meet it head on,” he began, as cited by the Sheffield Star. “It's a joke and a disgrace. If that's what you think of the players then, when we have the good days, don’t be clapping. Go home. Be consistent. If you want to come and wait for us to fail and abuse us, verbally and gesturing with abusive hand signals, give your ticket up to someone who wants to be there. Because there are loads of people who can’t get tickets who’d love the opportunity to back us.

“I understand negativity off the back of a bad performance, and it was. But there’s a line. Be consistent. We appreciate the good support and we'll need it on Tuesday night to lift the players. We had the opportunity to break a club record that's lasted about 350 years [of seven away wins on the bounce] and it just wasn't good enough. That's just how football is sometimes.

“You can analyse it and we’re disappointed; we all wear our hearts on our sleeves and we're giving everything for the football club, to get to 85 points with six games to go. if it was happening every other week or was the group I inherited last year who turned it in and were miles off it, then I'd get it. But not this group. Not this group. Don't do it to them, don't do it to me. That's how it is. It'll bring us tighter together and I'm sure you'll see a reaction in the players’ performance. The week before [against Coventry] was outstanding and we were just off it.”

It’s a strong message from Wilder, but he knows he will need his fans on Tuesday night in another key clash, facing Millwall at Bramall Lane. The Blades need all the points they can get with just six games remaining as they look to secure automatic promotion, but the Lions are also in need of points.

Alex Neil’s men are six points off the playoffs, and they will likely need to win five of six games to stand any chance of closing that gap and sneaking into the top six before the end of the season.

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