Big Sheffield United positive emerges v Southampton - some fans have one clear warning for Chris Wilder | OneFootball

Tom Davies made his return from injury for Sheffield United in their 2-1 loss to Southampton

Sheffield United’s difficult start to the Championship season continued with a 2-1 defeat at home to Southampton on Tuesday night.

The Blades took the lead in the first half through Tyrese Campbell, but a second half brace from Ross Stewart consigned the club to defeat.

Chris Wilder has overseen two losses and a victory since replacing Ruben Selles as manager in September, with the team still rooted to the bottom of the table.

However, there were some encouraging signs even in defeat, with some individual performances standing out for praise.

In particular, Tom Davies’ return to the side was welcomed by supporters, with the midfielder making his first appearance of the campaign after suffering a fitness issue during pre-season.

Tom Davies praised for his impact in Sheffield United’s loss to Southampton

Davies has been absent throughout the season up until Tuesday night’s fixture at home against Southampton.

The 27-year-old made his return by going straight into Wilder’s starting line-up, where he played 69 minutes before being substituted in favour of Alex Matos with the team chasing the game.

Despite the disappointing result, the return of Davies has been praised, with a number of people singling out his performance.

He created one shot, completed 83.8 per cent of his passes and completed two of his three take-on attempts in a flashy first performance back from injury (all stats from Fbref).

Keeping the former Everton player fit could prove key for Wilder turning things around at Bramall Lane, with it being claimed he is a class above every other option in the middle of the pitch.

The Yorkshire outfit’s form remains a key concern, especially given their hopes pre-season of another push for promotion after reaching the play-off final in May.

It’s been suggested that pairing Davies with a proper defensive midfielder could be exactly what the side needs, which could offer some insight into Sheffield United’s possible January plans.

While Davies’ performance did receive praise, there are still fans who are sceptical of his fitness record, with the player struggling to stay healthy on a consistent basis.

Another fan meanwhile had similar feelings for the former Everton man, given his history of being on the sidelines.

The midfielder played just 13 times in the Championship last season, along with only nine appearances in the Premier League for Sheffield United in 2023/24.

A recurring theme of the reaction to his performance is that his availability will be crucial to their hopes of climbing back up the Championship table.

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Ruben Selles oversaw a busy summer transfer window when he replaced Wilder as manager in the summer, but he lasted just five games before the 57-year-old was brought back.

A 1-0 loss to Charlton Athletic in the first game of Wilder's third stint as manager highlighted the size of the task at hand, and that it was not going to be a quick fix.

While a win over Oxford United put some points on the board for the Blades, their defeat to Southampton will likely keep them in the bottom three until the next international break ends - something that would have not even been considered a possibility before the start of the campaign.

Despite the defeat, the overall performance against Will Still's side has earned some praise, indicating that there are signs that the club’s form may turn around in the near future.

Wilder has been given credit for improving things very quickly, just a couple of weeks after being appointed as manager.

But it is clear that a lot of supporters still feel there is a lot of work left to do before Sheffield United are back to the kind of form they had last season, when they finished third in the table.

Their concern will now be getting out of the relegation zone before November, and if results do not improve consistently, then it may be a relegation battle rather than looking at the Premier League for the red half of Sheffield.