“We Get Paid to Win” – Chris Wilder Wants Sheffield United to “Not Take Foot Off the Gas” Before Play-offs | OneFootball

Sheffield United left the Bet365 Stadium with all three points on Friday night, defeating Stoke City 2-0.

The Blades made a bright start, creating early opportunities within the opening 10 minutes. It was a lively return for Campbell, who had previously opened his United account against his former club back in October. He almost repeated the feat, but Stoke goalkeeper Viktor Johansson was equal to his effort, producing a smart save to deny him.

The breakthrough came in the 38th minute, a reward for United’s strong first-half display. From a Brewster inswinging corner, a Stoke defender inadvertently kept the ball alive at the back post, allowing Sam McCallum to rise highest and power a header into the roof of the net, aided by a slight deflection.

Stoke nearly hit back immediately with a moment of magic from Lewis Baker, who curled a brilliant strike inches past the left-hand post.

After the interval, Stoke dominated possession, but Sheffield United remained resilient and disciplined, soaking up pressure and looking dangerous on the counter. Their resilience paid off in the closing minutes when substitute Andre Brooks scored with his first touch. Fellow substitute Sydie Peck delivered a low driven cross, and Brooks was perfectly placed at the back post to tap home and seal the victory.

The result means United have just one game remaining before the play-offs, with Chris Wilder’s side eager to finish the regular campaign on a high when they host Blackburn Rovers next Saturday.

Chris Wilder Wants Sheffield United to “Not Take Backwards Step” in Final Game

STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND – APRIL 25: Andre Brooks of Sheffield United scores his team’s second goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City FC and Sheffield United FC at Bet365 Stadium on April 25, 2025 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Speaking after the match, manager Chris Wilder praised his team’s energy and focus:

“Back to winning ways is important; there’s been a lot of things I’ve had to balance over the last few days but the energy of the group since Monday night has been outstanding. I thought it was a good performance. Our away record all season has been pretty solid, but recently took a little bit of a dip. We talked about resting key players, giving minutes to Rob Holding, and Sam McCallum, and Femi Seriki, and Callum O’Hare, and Kieffer Moore, with another strong solid performance. Getting valuable time away for Gus Hamer and a couple of the others to rest because they’ve been playing with knocks, but making sure we’re back to being a winning football club.”

Wilder was also clear that there would be no letting up as the season reaches its climax:

“We get paid to win football games and recently we haven’t won as many as we wanted to win. We’ve got an obligation to everybody; when you sign that contract and put that shirt on, you’ve got to go and win. I’ve not taken my foot off the gas and the players haven’t. I told them that these two games isn’t the time to take a breather and a backwards step, it’s the time to step on it.”

Looking ahead, Wilder was full of pride for what his team has already achieved:

“We’ll step on it next weekend to try and get over two points per game; that would be an incredible achievement. We’ve finished third. One of my pals said there was a shout that if you didn’t finish in the top two, you might as well not finish anywhere. I don’t subscribe to that. We’ve had a lot of challenges, and I think internally in the game there’s a lot of admiration and respect for what we’ve done this season. Maybe externally you hear chants tonight, but we haven’t chucked anything away. We’ve just fallen a little short, I’m not going to beat the boys up for that; they’ve given everything for me and the football club.”