Exclusive: Sheffield United dilemma facing Ruben Selles v Birmingham City - Sky man makes Chris Wilder claim | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie has told FLW his verdict on Ruben Selles after he oversaw a 4-1 defeat in his first game in charge

Lee Hendrie has reiterated that Sheffield United should have stuck with Chris Wilder after Ruben Selles’ side lost 4-1 to Bristol City last weekend.

The 57-year-old oversaw a third place finish in the Championship last season, with the Blades missing out on promotion with a play-off final loss to Sunderland.

This led to the club’s new owners to change manager, bringing in the Spaniard after his departure from Hull City.

Selles oversaw his first game in charge on Saturday, with the team losing 4-1 to the team they beat 6-0 on aggregate in the semi-final of the play-offs last season.

Sheffield United won’t panic after 4-1 Bristol City loss

Hendrie believes that Sheffield United have no need to panic after just one game due to Selles needing time for things to click.

He highlighted injuries and new signings, as well as a new style of play, as factors that should buy the 42-year-old plenty of time, suggesting there were things to like about their performance last Saturday.

“There’s no need to panic with Sheffield United at the moment,” Hendrie exclusively told Football League World.

“They’ll look, they’ll observe what they could’ve done better.

“They were missing players, key players, and still are.

“They’ve got the likes of [Ollie] Arblaster to come back, [Jack] Robinson obviously wasn’t quite fit to start, so they had to rejig the backline, couple of new faces in there as well that are obviously finding their feet.

“Yes, you expect that just to click and happen and it doesn’t always happen like that, and you’ve got a new manager that’s steering the ship.

“I don’t think they’ll be pushing the panic buttons just yet, but they’re playing that bit of a high line, I think you need a really good standard to do so, I think you need experience as well back there.

“There was lots to like about them going forward, but defensively I felt they looked so vulnerable and I thought Bristol City did a fantastic job on them, they worked hard in and out of possession, and exposed their weakness, which was defensively.

“I felt that it was far too easy — yes, they were clinical, but they’ve got some very good players Bristol City that can hurt you and that proved at the weekend.

“I think it’ll be back to the drawing board for a certain amount of things, and it’ll be interesting how their season unfolds, do they react to that? They’ve got to react to that.”

Sheffield United should have stuck to Chris Wilder

While he expects Selles to be given time to make good at Sheffield United, Hendrie reiterated his feeling that Wilder should’ve remained in charge.

“I know that they play Birmingham in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, which will be a massive game,” he added.

“Does he go strong or does he go relatively weak out of the squad? It’s an interesting one because they’ll want to get that win under their belts and to hopefully get them driving forward after the disappointment of the play-offs.

“I think there’s always question marks over why Chris Wilder left the football club, he knows it inside out and they brought someone in that this is a big job to certainly take a club forward.

“I think all eyes will be on this and if they’re not getting results the pressure will be on him, but I think they’ve made their choice straight after the season that they were going to get rid of Chris and I always felt that Chris should’ve stayed.”

Next up for Sheffield United in the league is a trip to face Swansea City on 16 August.

Ruben Selles has to be given time at Sheffield United

The new owners at Sheffield United made their choice to bring in Selles, and he is their man going forward.

They simply have to back him over the next few months, regardless of how everything is going on the pitch.

It will take some getting used to for the players with this new style of play, and the squad itself could still use some work in the transfer window before it shuts.

The defeat to Bristol City was a wake up call for Selles, but he shouldn’t be under too much pressure after just one game in charge.