Chris Wilder on Sheffield United's draw at Coventry

The Star, Sheffield

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder dissects his side's dramatic 2-2 draw at Coventry City after defender Anel Ahmedhodzic was sent off in the first half. Courtesy of BBC Radio Sheffield

Transcript

00:00Chris, 2-2, a very dramatic game today, where do you want to start?

00:05Team's performance?

00:06Team's performance, team attitude, team character, personality.

00:10I said in there to the players, one of the things that comforts you as a manager and a coach

00:18is that you know what you're getting from your group.

00:20There'll be good days, there'll be bad days.

00:22Some days we get beat, some days we win, some days we play well, some days we play average.

00:26I know what I'm going to get from my players all the time.

00:31From the starting XI, from subs, from subs coming on, from players that are in the squad,

00:37from players that are not in the squad getting into the squad.

00:39Consistency is key from a mentality point of view and I've got that.

00:43As I said, these are a good group of players that we were up against today, really good.

00:50Underachieving in terms of the stats, definitely one of the strongest squads in the division.

00:59I would say top four, top five strongest squads in the division.

01:03They've decided to turn it on today, haven't they, and have a go.

01:10I'm a Mark Robbins fan, maybe, being a little bit controversial because sometimes I can't keep my mouth shut.

01:19If they'd run around like that in the previous 14 or 15 games, maybe somebody else might be in a job still.

01:26That's why I'm delighted with the consistency of the group and the attitude of the group.

01:32They gave everything.

01:33I believe if it had been 11 versus 11, it still would have been a tight game, but I believe we would have won.

01:38So, disappointing that a mistake defensively has got them in the game,

01:44but they were pushing and they've got really talented players and they were going for it.

01:47We got tested and pushed, but it's a big point and it's an important point.

01:52The red card, any complaints?

01:53Absolutely no complaints.

01:55I saw Darren at half-time and said, you've got nowhere to go.

01:59Anel knows that, he knows I'm going to be disappointed and we're all going to be disappointed

02:02because he's had to rely on his teammates to get him out of a hole, so to speak.

02:09So, we miss a big player for three games, so we have to take care of that internally, which I will do.

02:15I talked to the players and we talked about discipline.

02:19If that's the way some players in certain teams are going to act and perform, like the lad did,

02:26he tried to leave a little bit on Anel early on.

02:29He went over twice in the box, tried to con the referee and he's instigated a situation.

02:38Anel should know better.

02:40As an experienced player, he fell for the free-card trick,

02:43but the boy, as Anel's on the floor, clips him on the floor,

02:46then clips him as he's stood over him.

02:52Anel, this is maybe the thing that's a little bit confusing for me,

03:01when somebody puts their hand on a neck and then he holds his face.

03:04So, what's all that about?

03:06If he holds his neck and he goes down, fair enough.

03:09I understand gamesmanship and game management and stuff like that,

03:14but the boy didn't get punched in the face and he's gone down as if he's been hit by Mike Tyson,

03:20holding his face when it clearly was round his neck.

03:23Like I said, no excuses for what Anel did, but that doesn't really sit right for us.

03:29If that's how it's going to be against teams coming up,

03:33we're going to have to deal with it and we're going to have to deal with it better

03:35because we can't afford to lose players and make it difficult for ourselves.

03:39It's always going to be a squad game this season with the nature of how the Championship is.

03:42It's another big player that you've lost and clearly everybody is having to step up right now.

03:48Yes, we'll be alright. Robbo's gone on to the pitch and been great.

03:52Just for clarity, Tyrese Campbell just had a tight hamstring,

03:56so he'd possibly only do 65-70 and maybe he wouldn't even have done that

04:02because he was just feeling his hamstring.

04:04So, that was a decision to bring Ty off.

04:07We went 5-3-1. We had a decision to make.

04:12I believed if we'd have opened the game up, we'd have got done.

04:16So, we like defending. We can defend as seen.

04:20Just disappointing in the manner.

04:22We knew they were going to pile it on.

04:23They knew they were going to be player after player and attacking player.

04:25And as I said, you look at their squad, it's littered with some really good players.

04:30Ellis Sims coming off the bench like we last 10 minutes.

04:33So, the squad, as I said, is a really strong squad.

04:37At any time, would we have accepted a point here?

04:40Yes, but especially down to 10 men, missing a few players,

04:47I think it's a really good point and I'm delighted for the Travelling fans,

04:53the way they got us over the line as well in terms of their vocal support

04:58and encouragement they gave us all.

05:00Seems a long time ago now, but we're remiss not to mention the two goals.

05:03Two really well-taken goals.

05:04Yes, fabulous goals. Gus had a chance off the back of that.

05:07Great goal by Jez. Brilliant play by Gus.

05:10And we knew that they'd be open on transition.

05:13They started off the game well.

05:14We knew that that would happen because the new manager maybe sat in the stand

05:17or watching, so they were trying to impress.

05:19Maybe they should have tried to impress Mark Robbins a little bit more.

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