‘We didn’t deserve anything…second best all over park’: Sheffield United boss pulls no punches on Portsmouth performance.

The Sheffield United boss admitted his promotion chasers were second best against John Mousinho’s side, despite running out 2-1 winners at Bramall Lane.

And the Blades manager acknowledged a more clinical Blues display would have buried his side in the first half, as the visitors carved out a host of chances.

Pompey were excellent despite the two sides being at opposite ends of the Championship table, with Mousinho’s men playing with intensity from the outset.

Colby Bishop had two great chances in addition to a goal being ruled out for being marginally offside, Connor Ogilvie missed a great opening after getting on the scoresheet with Josh Murphy hitting the bar and Callum Lang missing an open goal.

Wilder produced an honest and forthright assessment of his team’s performance and acknowledged it was Pompey who warranted victory.

He told the Sheffield Star: ‘I don’t think we deserved anything from the game. We were second best all over the park but it’s a cut-throat industry that we’re in. We’ll have a big review of the game, reflect and quickly get over it.

‘I’m taking it back a little bit, and half the people who read your stuff won’t know about it. Sir Alex Ferguson when they (Aberdeen) won a cup final against Rangers and had a right pop at his players. I’m not quite to that extent and we haven’t won a cup but we need to be better.

‘We should have been two or three down first half; we defended really poorly, individually and as a unit. If they were more clinical they’d have put us to bed.

‘The second half was a bit better, we had the luxury to change it around which we haven’t before and bringing on Rhian (Brewster) and Jes (Rak-Sakyi) and Sydie (Peck) gave us a bit of life and a spark.

‘As I’ve said before, in a season there are 10 or 15 games you play really well. Some more when you play okay to well, and there are a handful where you think: “How have we got something from that game?”

‘And I think that’s today. In the second half the amount of free-kicks we gave away was absolutely frightening. it was unrecognisable.

Baffling

‘Some of the decisions we made were baffling. I’ve been brought up to be honest and tell the truth, there have been spin managers all over the place, that look and see a completely different game.

‘But the supporters wouldn’t enjoy me trying to spin that, so I won’t. We were second best, didn’t deserve anything from the game. And we have to be so much better going down the stretch if we want to achieve what we want to.’