Adkins determined not to let Blades' season fizzle out

Nigel Adkins is determined not to let Sheffield United's season end with a whimper after Saturday's goalless draw with Barnsley effectively ended their play-off hopes.
Nigel Adkins manager of Sheffield Utd with assistant Andy Crosby during the Barnsley matchNigel Adkins manager of Sheffield Utd with assistant Andy Crosby during the Barnsley match
Nigel Adkins manager of Sheffield Utd with assistant Andy Crosby during the Barnsley match

The result left them four points behind the sixth-placed Reds with two games to play. And with Gillingham and Scunthorpe above ninth-placed United in the League One table, a late push for the top-six seems unlikely.

Adkins confirmed as much after Saturday’s game - “We needed to win,” he admitted - but the United manager, whose side travel to Coventry City this weekend, insisted: “We still have every intention to win the game at Coventry.

“The same on the last day of the season, at home to Scunthorpe.

“We’re building for the future but I think the fans can see that we have a spirit about ourselves now, and that’s important.

“Just like Gillingham, Barnsley came and got the clean sheet they wanted.

“We needed to win the game. But we’re determined to get promoted, and determined to get it right.

“We’ll reflect on what went wrong when the season comes to a close but everyone here is working very hard to get it right.”

Canadian defender David Edgar added: “It was an old-fashioned derby and we put our bodies on the line, defended as a team, but couldn’t find the goal we needed.”

Blades: P38