Ruben Selles Previews Bristol City Clash As He Declares His “Intention” to Keep Sheffield United Key Men This Summer | OneFootball

The 2025/26 EFL Championship season kicks off in style this weekend as Sheffield United welcome Bristol City to Bramall Lane, a rematch of one of last season’s play-off semi-final ties.

Each side begins the new campaign under fresh management. The Blades parted company with Chris Wilder after finishing third and missing out on promotion, appointing Ruben Selles as their new head coach. Meanwhile, the Robins lost Liam Manning to Norwich City, with Gerhard Struber taking the reins at Ashton Gate.

Ruben Selles Speaks Ahead of Sheffield United vs Bristol City

YORK, ENGLAND – JULY 15: Ruben Selles, Manager of Sheffield United, looks on during the pre-season friendly match between York City and Sheffield United at LNER Community Stadium on July 15, 2025 in York, England. (Photo by Tony King/Getty Images)

Selles recently spoke ahead of his first competitive match in charge at Bramall Lane, describing the excitement of finally getting underway after a productive pre-season.

“I’m really excited,” Selles told SUTV. “I think the biggest part of this job is to play football matches; competitive football matches. It has been a good time so far but now we’re looking forward to starting our first game at home with our fans and hopefully to put our performance together.”

The former Hull City manager used his five weeks of pre-season to install a clearer identity and playing style, something he now hopes will translate on the pitch in the Championship.

“The way we work in the pre-season is to maximise what we can do and how we want to play the game. It’s about how much we can carry from pre-season… from the style we want to play, from the identity we’re building, into a competitive game when the psychological and emotional part is bigger.”

Blades Are Short at the Back

LUTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 15: Anel Ahmedhodzic of Sheffield United celebrates the win at the end of the game the Sky Bet Championship match between Luton Town FC and Sheffield United FC at Kenilworth Road on February 15, 2025 in Luton, England. (Photo by

Selles’s plans have already been tested after centre-back Anel Ahmedhodzic left for Feyenoord earlier this week before the season opener on Saturday evening. That departure has left the Blades thin in central defence. “Football is football and these things happen. It’s not the first time,” Selles said. “The situation with Anel was different, it was a team that needed a centre-back pretty quick and in 24 hours it was done.”

With Jack Robinson and Tyler Bindon the only remaining senior centre-backs, fitness concerns over Robinson had raised further alarm. However, Selles provided a welcome update: “Jack Robinson is back training with us so he can be ready for the game… He was training hard in the first three weeks and has made the last couple of training [sessions] so he’s in good condition. He’s ready to go.”

If Robinson isn’t fit to start, Rhys Norrington-Davies could be called upon to fill the void at left centre-back.

Elsewhere, Tom Davies and Jamie Shackleton have all been ruled out due to injury. As of course has Oli Arblaster, who we know won’t be available for at least another month.

Sheffield United Boss on What Threats the Robins Could Pose

Bristol City also begin a new era under Gerhard Struber, and Selles is under no illusions about the challenge ahead.

“With the change of manager with Gerhard [Struber] going there, watching his Köln team last season, and knowing his experiences in the Red Bull franchise at New York and Salzburg, it’s a coach that wants to be more aggressive in defensive terms than Bristol City has been previously.”

Selles continued: “As far as I have seen they’ve been playing with a back five, but Gerhard has played a back four so it depends on personnel. It’s going to be a competitive team, a team that has very clear ideas… and Bristol City have always been very competent at set plays so it’s a point we need to be strong at.”

Struber will have to manage without midfielders Joe Williams and Max Bird, both ruled out through injury. That could give the Blades a foothold in the middle of the park, though much will depend on how quickly Selles’s squad adapts to his new high pressing style. But, this could be aided by the latest addition of promising defensive midfielder Djibril Soumare.

Selles Makes Intentions Clear Regarding Hamer And Cooper

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – MARCH 28: Gustavo Hamer of Sheffield United celebrates with team-mates Harrison Burrows and Hamza Choudhury after scoring the opening goal from a free-kick during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Coventry City FC at Bramall Lane on March 28, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

With Ahmedhodzic and Kieffer Moore now gone, speculation has swirled around the futures of key players like Gustavo Hamer and Michael Cooper. Selles is hopeful of avoiding further outgoings, especially in terms of significant players.

“Hopefully they [Hamer and Cooper] stay with us and that is my intention,” he said. “The situations with the names you mention is pretty different to the situation with Anel. I never say never in this business because I know how it works, but our intention is to keep our key players.”

If United’s Pre-season is Anything to Go By; Expect A Goals Fest

It’s always a bit of a lottery in terms of how a football team will start the new campaign, especially when there’s a different manager with fresh ideas. But if pre-season is anything to go by, we should expect plenty of goals in United’s matches this season. The Blades scored 22 goals in six pre-season games, including the behind-closed-doors match against Fulham in which Sheffield United won 3-2 after extra time.

Speaking about the pre-season preparations, Selles admitted: “I was keen to have very good opposition, especially at the end because I wanted different levels. It’s always different kinds of opposition with different levels and we wanted to have that variety and I think we had a good mix. The lads worked really hard in every game and the preparation for those games was brilliant and those are the standards we want.”

The foundations and details have been set by Selles and his coaching staff. We shall see how the preparation translates to the first match of the new Championship campaign against Bristol City, in front of a packed out Bramall Lane this weekend.