Sheffield United’s season outcome has been confirmed following yesterday’s defeat, seeing their promotion hopes lie in the playoffs.

Despite an impressive season from the Blades, with a newly revitalised squad, hopes of promotion to the top flight can only come via the Championship playoffs.

Easter Monday’s defeat at the hands of Burnley confirmed Chris Wilder’s side’s place in the Championship play-offs, while also confirming Yorkshire rivals Leeds United’s return to the top flight.

Brief hope for Sheffield United was quickly dashed after Tom Cannon’s equaliser was quickly drowned out by an assertive Josh Brownhill penalty on the stroke of half-time.

Defensive excellence was yet again the story of Scott Parker’s side, as Burnley expertly saw out the second half to secure promotion back to the top flight.

This result sees the South Yorkshire outfit join Sunderland as the second team to confirm their place in next month’s play-off campaign.

Even with the additional strain of a two-point deduction, Sheffield United have enjoyed an excellent campaign off the back of a dismal Premier League campaign last term while riddled with uncertainty off the field, but how will Chris Wilder’s side cope in the play-offs?

Will Sheffield United overcome playoff stigma?

While at a glance, previous history in the play-offs will not enthuse Blades fans, as with nine attempts to achieve promotion via the playoff route, none have been successful. 

Added to that, the Blades’ last recorded victory at Wembley dates back to 1925, exactly 100 years ago.

However, it shouldn’t be a doom-and-gloom forecast for the red-and-white outfit.

In his post-match interview yesterday, Chris Wilder remained with the stance that Sheffield United’s season is far from over:

“Congratulations to Daniel (Farke) and Scott (Parker) and their two teams,

“for those clubs to have the ability to reach 100 points shows you what the division is like, and we’ve finished up the third-best team in the division.

“We’ve had to learn on the job and the season doesn’t end here, we’d have had to get 95+ points, so it is an insane season.

“The players will learn from this because we’ve fallen short.”

An impressive turnaround

Relegated with 16 points from the Premier League last campaign, the club appeared dismal coming into the 2024-25 campaign.

It must be said that Wilder has done an impressive job in steering his boyhood club into the promotion mix.

In his post-match interview, the Englishman also reflected on his squad at the start of the campaign, describing the team in pre-season as “an under-21-team”.

With investment in the impressive assets of Harrison Burrows and Michael Cooper coupled with the individual qualities of Gustavo Hamer and Anel Ahmedhodzic, Sheffield United have been defensively astute with the third most clean sheets in the division.

Further strength in the side lies in the sporadic goalscorers, with their current top scorer Tyreece Campbell boasting ten goals at the time of writing, closely followed by both Gustavo Hamer and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

Sheffield United have an impressive track record with teams currently residing in the playoff spots.

While both games against Sunderland ended in wins for either team at their home grounds, the Blades have picked up four points against both Bristol City and Coventry City – with a semi-final against one of the two a likely scenario.

The result against Frank Lampard’s side was a particular highlight of the season, running away as 3-1 victors inspired by an excellent free kick from Gustavo Hamer against his former club.

With Stoke City and play-off hopefuls Blackburn Rovers yet to play, 90 points is still an achievable feat for the Brammall Lane side.

With their spot in third confirmed, these fixtures will be important in maintaining momentum going into next month’s play-offs.

Will Sheffield United win promotion?

While disappointed to have missed out on the top two, optimism at Brammall Lane is undeniably higher than this time last year.

Despite history telling a poor record in the playoffs, defensive solidarity and individual moments of star quality are crucial aspects to any team hoping to compete over two legs.

This season’s record against their likely opponents will be a boost for the club going into the two-legged affairs, as will Brammall Lane which boasts the third-best home record in the division.

With no shame in losing out on promotion at the hands of Leeds United and Burnley, could the Blades quickly recoup the season and win at Wembley for the first time in a century?

With a squad boasting clear quality and adaptability, I think Wilder will see his boyhood club return to the top flight.