Wilder hits back at critics after Sheffield United victory

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder felt his side’s 2-1 victory at QPR was the perfect response to their doubters.

They came from behind at Loftus Road, where David McGoldrick’s 65th-minute penalty gave them the points.

Billy Sharp had equalised shortly before half-time to cancel out Ebere Eze’s opener.

United lost the opening two matches of their Sky Bet Championship season, with their performances in defeats against Middlesbrough and Swansea attracting some criticism.

“We’re really struggling with that character stuff, aren’t we?” Wilder said sarcastically after the Blades’ win.

“Over the last two years we’ve not shown any bottle or character or spirit, no desire and we’re all over the place. People are having a fight in the changing room every day.”

He added: “People will make assumptions, but I don’t sign players who don’t want to run about for this football club.

“I said to the players the only way you’re going to show people if they’re questioning you is when you step out onto the pitch.

“Noise and nonsense or whatever it is, we have to keep our cool and go through these periods – it happens to us all. The expectation levels have gone through the roof over the past two years.

“We’ve done some things over the two years we like to think have been quite good.

“When you fall a little bit, which we have done in certain periods of the two games, you have to take it on the chin what people say.

“It wasn’t the most free-flowing performance. But it was a Sheffield United type of performance, with guts, determination, desire and a little bit of football played in there.”