Matt Doherty reveals one 'crucial' thing Sheffield United must do 'like Coventry' | OneFootball

The new arrival knows that a fast start is imperative next season for Sheffield United

Sheffield United's bid to go one better than their play-off final defeat in the 2025/26 campaign was out of the window in the space of three months.

This time last year, the Blades were in the midst of a tumultuous summer, having sacked Chris Wilder off the back of coming up short at Wembley, despite a season which saw his side collect 92 points on the field.

In his place came Ruben Selles, and the squad was bolstered to the point where it was bloated with names who weren't ready to help Sheffield United kick on.

Six straight defeats in all competitions to open the campaign resulted in the higher-ups at Bramall Lane doing a U-turn in the dugout, axing Selles in favour of a returning Wilder for his third stint, but the damage had already been done.

It wasn't a quick fix under the popular Blades boss, as Sheffield United would end up losing 11 of their opening 14 league games before things started to turn around after the November international break.

United finished well away from relegation, but in the bottom half still, and now face their third straight campaign in the second tier, with a big demand to return to their former glory as quickly as possible.

Matt Doherty believes a quick start is "crucial" for Sheffield United this season

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In the 31 games which were kick-started by their Steel City derby win over Sheffield Wednesday on November 23, Sheffield United picked up 50 points, the seventh-most in the division. Despite that, they still finished 13 points off a play-off spot.

Now, the Blades are undergoing their first transfer window as a Championship club without parachute payments in over six years, and Chris Wilder has had to be meticulous with his signings, relying on quality loans and frees to help push the club back towards the play-offs.

Matt Doherty is an example of one of those free transfers who will provide a lot of experience and quality in the second tier when called upon. The 34-year-old hasn't played in the Championship since winning it with Wolves in 2017/18, and knows that a strong start will be needed to give his new club the best chance of promotion.

"It's [about] getting momentum at the right time," the right-back told Sheffield United's YouTube channel. "For me, the start of the season is so important; I think you need to start off well.

"Like Coventry did last year, once you start off well, teams, I think, start to give you wins, prioritising other games when you start off well.

"So, if you can start well and, say, win 10 of the first 13 or 14 games, you kind of create that fear factor around you, and games do become a little easier. So, the start of the season is crucial."

The start of the season for the Blades last year almost made promotion an impossible task, as they needed to be near-perfect through six months of the campaign to really make a push towards getting into the top six.

Meanwhile, Coventry went unbeaten through 12 games to open the campaign, winning eight of them, which opened up a five-point gap over third place that they maintained and grew throughout the rest of the campaign.

Sheffield United must start better than they did in 2025/26

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Sheffield United's opening to last season was downright disastrous, and while a strong start this time round will be needed, it doesn't even need to reflect Coventry's from last year.

The Blades were seventh in that 31-game stretch, and that included a run of just three wins in their last 11 games to close out the season. A strong end to the campaign would have solidified themselves as one of the division's best sides from December onwards.

Furthermore, just 10 more points in that poor run would have seen them finish in eighth, despite the poor start. In the upcoming campaign, that would see them in the play-offs.

If the Blades don't get off to a blistering start, there'll be the hope that even a middling one which sees them in mid-table through ten or so games will still be good enough to end up being in the top eight at least come May.

But Sheffield United, like many other sides, will want to be right up near the top challenging for silverware, as has been the case at Bramall Lane in the majority of Championship campaigns in the last eight years.