Ruben Selles Reacts to Embarrassing Defeat; Sheffield United Exploring Possibility of Bringing Wilder Back | OneFootball

Sheffield United’s miserable start to the season hit a new low on Friday evening as Ipswich Town dismantled them 5-0 at Portman Road. The defeat leaves the Blades bottom of the table, pointless, and with a -11 goal difference after just five games.

The breakthrough came in the 21st minute in harsh circumstances for United. On his debut, Alex Matos saw a shot blocked, only for the ball to ricochet kindly into the path of Jaden Philogene. The Ipswich winger showed no hesitation, calmly slotting beyond Michael Cooper to set Town on their way.

United briefly threatened after the restart when Callum O’Hare, found by Sydie Peck, created space on the edge of the box. His strike from distance, however, failed to trouble goalkeeper Alex Palmer. Ipswich swiftly made them pay. Philogene picked up the ball on the left, drove at Ben Godfrey, and rifled home a stunning finish to double the advantage.

By the hour mark, the Blades’ defence crumbled again. George Hirst slipped free inside the area and, from a tight angle, squeezed the ball through Cooper’s legs to make it 3-0.

Ruben Selles responded with a quadruple substitution, introducing the likes of Gustavo Hamer and Tyrese Campbell, but the changes had no impact. Philogene completed his hat-trick in emphatic fashion, thundering a left-footed strike into the top corner from 20 yards with 20 minutes to play.

There was still time for further humiliation. Substitute Jack Clarke skipped past Godfrey with ease and nutmegged Cooper to add Ipswich’s fifth, the second time on the night a Town player had beaten the Blades keeper in such a fashion.

The result compounds United’s early-season woes. In just five matches, they have already conceded 12 goals; a third of the 36 they let in across the entirety of last season’s Championship campaign.

Ruben Selles Reacts After Sheffield United Suffer Humiliating Loss to Ipswich Town

IPSWICH, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 12: Jaden Philogene of Ipswich Town scores his team’s second goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Ipswich Town and Sheffield United at Portman Road on September 12, 2025 in Ipswich, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Speaking to Sky Sports, manager Ruben Selles acknowledged the scrutiny on his position:

“The business is like that. If you don’t win football matches, your position is going to be discussed always. That comes with reality. For us, I think there’s only one way, to keep working hard until the very last second at the club and try to always give 100%.”

On the match itself, Selles admitted to SUTV that his team fell apart after the second goal:

“The first goal comes from an interception 70 yards from our goal. The second goal changed the game and I think we fell apart. After a 5-0 defeat it’s tough to talk about positives but in the first half we saw the team we want to be.”

Could Chris Wilder Be Returning to Bramall Lane?

Entering this game, there was already plenty of speculation regarding the future of Selles, and now after a heavy 5-0 defeat, this has only intensified. Reports coming from The Star suggest that COH Sports are exploring the possibility of bringing Chris Wilder back to the club despite being sacked by the board back in June.

TalkSport sources have claimed Wilder would be open to a return to his boyhood club less than 100 days after being dismissed by the American owners.