'Incomprehensible' - Blades must learn Luton lesson

Judge us after 10 games.

That is what managers, players and supporters often say when teams have a poor start to a season, because it's usually viewed as a reasonable amount of time to assess results and performances.

Well, Sheffield United went into the first international break bottom of the Championship after losing their opening five games in league and cup.

Ruben Selles was sacked just one game later, and former boss Chris Wilder was reinstated with hopes high for an immediate impact.

But going into the second international break, the Blades remain bottom, and after 10 games in all competitions, they have one win and nine defeats.

For any club, that would be judged as a disaster.

For a club that competed in last season's Championship play-off final and spent three of the past six campaigns in the Premier League, it's incomprehensible.

United's American owners COH Sports have shouldered the blame for the club's nightmare start, having hired, fired and rehired in just 89 days this summer.

So how should we judge returning boss Wilder, his beleaguered playing squad and the team's prospects for the rest of the Championship season, as things stand?

Performances have improved in the four games under Wilder but it has not been the returning-manager bounce anyone expected, none more so than by Wilder himself.

For example, at Hull City last weekend, the Blades had more shots than the Tigers, more shots on target, more possession, more corners and a better pass success rate… but they lost 1-0, missing a late penalty in the process.

Most of the players are better than what they are showing, given what they have already demonstrated at Bramall Lane, or with other clubs throughout their careers. Their confidence is understandably low, and many are making mistakes they wouldn't usually make.

The multiple changes in manager, formation and style have to be taken in consideration, but none of these factors should give the players a free pass for where the club finds itself.

It is now down to Wilder and his staff to organise, motivate and galvanise those players, who in turn need to stand up and be counted if this season is going to be more than a fight for survival.

Right now, any talk of a promotion push – as referenced by the Blades board when reappointing Wilder – should be shelved. This does not mean it is impossible, but if results do not improve, that will quickly be the case.

The immediate focus for everyone at Sheffield United has to be getting out of the relegation zone, nothing more.

Many so-called big clubs have fallen through the top divisions to League One before, including the Blades themselves - and Luton Town's current situation should serve as a real warning of what could happen if performances and results don't continue to improve.

The Blades played the Hatters in the Premier League just over 18 months ago.

Nobody thought Luton could go down last season, but they did, and they have just sacked their manager Matt Bloomfield, sitting 11th in the third tier.

That position in League One is where Wilder originally inherited his boyhood club in 2016, before leading them to the Premier League in three years.

The task Wilder has inherited in his third spell as Blades boss currently feels as big as it did nine years ago, and nobody will be more determined that United are looking up not down as this season unfolds.