Wilder says Blades need 'shake-up' and have 'a couple that need to go'

Chris Wilder admits Sheffield United need a ‘shake-up’ as frustrated boss reveals basement boys have ‘a couple that need to go’ after Southampton defeat edges fading Blades closer to relegation

• Chris Wilder wants to make urgent changes to his toiling Sheffield United squad
• The Blades boss calls the players currently available to him a ‘pretty tough’ hand
• Wilder says John Egan, Jack O’Connell, Chris Basham and Sander Berge are key
• United are 12 points short of Premier League safety after defeat by Southampton

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has admitted his frustration at not being allowed to axe at least two players immediately from his rock-bottom Premier League squad.

Frustrated Wilder watched the lacklustre Blades lose a fifth game in six against Southampton at Bramall Lane on Saturday, producing only two shots on target in a 2-0 defeat that dealt another huge blow to their survival hopes.

Beleaguered Wilder told Sky Sports: ‘It needs a bit of a shake-up in terms of a few bodies going out and a few bodies coming in.

Chris Wilder could face a long end to the season after Sheffield United slipped to defeat again

Wilder has missed vital players including record signing Sander Berge (left) and Jack O’Connell

‘There are a couple that need to go. They have to go at the end of the season. I’d like to shake it up a little bit more quickly but the rules and regs now, for that, don’t allow me to.

‘Obviously, the hand that I’m given at the moment is a pretty tough one with some of the players that we have to go with.’

The result left United a mammoth 12 points from safety with 10 league matches remaining this season, while the sides directly outside of the relegation zone have two more games to play than Wilder’s doomed-looking side.

Wilder named defenders John Egan, Jack O’Connell and Chris Basham and midfielder Sander Berge as missing stars who would have a ‘huge part’ to play in reviving United’s fortunes.

Several Blades players could be given the push following the 2-0 home loss to Southampton

John Egan, who Wilder has also named as a key star, was stretchered off injured at West Ham

O’Connell has missed almost all of the campaign with a knee injury, and Republic of Ireland regular Egan is expected to sit out a further six weeks with a dislocated toe.

Hugely experienced Basham and record £22m signing Berge are thought to be close to returning from hamstring injuries ahead of next Sunday’s trip to Leicester and an FA Cup quarter-final clash with Chelsea.

United became only the second top-flight side in England to lose 22 of their first 28 games in a season, following in the unwanted footsteps of Sunderland’s disastrous 2005/06 campaign.

Having finished ninth in a stylish debut season back in the Premier League last season, Wilder has also seen his players concede the first goal in 21 games in the Premier League – more than any other club.

Chris Basham picked up a problem against Fulham and has been unable to help United improve

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