Sheffield United: Chris Wilder reveals Southampton factor that influenced Leeds United decision | OneFootball

Chris Wilder has explained his decision to go to a back three for Sheffield United's loss at Leeds United.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder revealed that Southampton’s play-off final win over Leeds United was a factor in changing the formation for their 2-0 loss at Elland Road on Friday night.

The Blades were the only unbeaten side in the Championship going into the Yorkshire derby, so it was a surprise when Wilder changed from his usual 4-2-3-1 formation to go with a back three, as Rhys Norrington-Davies was brought into the XI.

It was a move that backfired, as aside from the first ten minutes, Sheffield United were comfortably outplayed by the hosts, who deservedly picked up all three points.

Chris Wilder explains surprising Sheffield United decision

And, speaking to the club’s media after the game, Wilder gave an insight into why he made the call, as he cited Southampton’s win over Leeds at Wembley as an example of how a back three can disrupt the Whites.

“They’ve got six at the top of the pitch, that’s their game. We’ve studied them tactically, what other teams have done that has got them success, and Southampton had success last year in the play-off final by changing around, and we felt that could work.

“They have six at the top line, so they stretch your back four, and we felt they would stretch our back four too much, so we had to put one in there.

“For us, it was the other bit, when we turned it over, we just weren’t good enough with the ball. When that happens, and you make poor decisions, they’re going to come back at you. It’s a simplistic way of putting it, but they dominate possession, their xG is better than anybody else, their xG against is better than anybody else, so we have to find a way.

“I could’ve easily come here and played 4-2-3-1, and unless you’ve got a crystal ball, it might’ve been better, it might’ve been the same, it might’ve been worse. But, we have to be brave in those decisions through experience and belief.

“We got done on the first goal on a set-play, and on a counter-attack, but they did have the bigger chances.”

Chris Wilder should’ve had more faith in his Sheffield United side

It’s very good to hear such detail from a manager, and it’s clear that Wilder was worried about the attacking threat that the Leeds full-backs provide, which means they do attack with six.

So, whilst it’s understandable to cater to that, the obvious response back is that it would leave gaps for Sheffield United to exploit, and he maybe should’ve had more faith in his side to be able to cope defensively.

This Blades defensive unit has been outstanding this season, and they have some excellent players in the team.

As well as that, the likes of Jesurun Rak-Sakyi would’ve offered a major counter-attacking threat with his pace, with the Blades lacking someone who could transition quickly with the side that was picked.

Ultimately, as Wilder says, there’s no way of knowing how it would’ve played out, but the reality is that his team put in a very poor performance.

It felt like he paid Leeds too much respect, and it was very unlike Wilder to take a backwards step in what was such a big game.