'Sums us up': Chris Wilder delivers cutting verdict of Sheffield United's heavy defeat to Burnley

The Clarets inflicted a 4-1 victory on the Premier League’s bottom side to reignite their own survival hopes.

But the result all but confirmed the Blades’ relegation back to the Championship, with Wilder himself conceding they’re “gone”.

Summing up the game, he said: “It sort of sums us up really.

“At our maximum, whether individually or as a team, we’re okay. I thought the first 35 minutes we should be 3-0 up. We had three glorious chances. But what does that do to affect the team? What does it do to Burnley?

“We understand everyone plays a different way and how with Burnley it’s risk and reward, they open up and they have the extra man, they have a goalkeeper that steps in. We knew that they would have possession of the ball but games aren’t decided by possession of the ball. But when we have those opportunities, we have to score, because this is the Premier League. You can’t afford not to.

“Even if we had come in at half-time at 0-0, you say: ‘shape is good, everything is good, we’re defending the way we defended for 35 minutes, they didn’t really open us up and then you will create opportunities going forward’. But I’m coming in saying a different thing because the two goals epitomised where we’ve been.

“Individual errors, one mistake, two mistakes, nobody goes, nobody rectifies the situation or does something to stop it.

“First goal, there’s a deflection, second goal there’s a mix up. At half-time I imagine Vinny is going: ‘how the hell are we 2-0 up here?’.

“The next goal is a big goal for both teams. We came flying out of the traps, we get ourselves back into it and we should basically go 2-2 and 3-2, but we don’t.

“Then yet again it’s a counter-attack, poor defending, one mistake, two mistakes, three mistakes, goal. It pops the balloon of everyone around the place, which I totally understand.

“Yet again from a leadership point of view there’s no-one to drag people and reset. There’s still half an hour but it’s game, set and match after the fourth and it’s pretty comfortable for the final 20 minutes.”