Chris Wilder criticises Premier League players for ‘rolling about all over the place’

Blades manager stopped short of labelling opposition players as 'cheaters'

Chris Wilder is dismayed by the gamesmanship in the Premier League and admits it is something Sheffield United have struggled with since winning promotion.

The Blades boss stopped short of using the term “cheating” but accused players in the top flight of being guilty of going to ground too easily and deliberately putting referees under pressure by “rolling about all over the place”.

While accepting that his team are competitive and can be physical, Wilder believes they have been on the receiving end of some “soft” decisions this season.

Wilder, though, says his side will not change ahead of their trip to Brighton on Saturday.

“It’s different to the Championship,” said Wilder, who is without the suspended John Fleck, while Oliver Norwood and John Lundstram are only one booking away from a ban.

“There are players in the Premier League when the ball has not even come to them and they are looking to go down.

“They are looking to put the referee in a tough position and asking a question of the referee before they have even dealt with the ball. That is fact from what I’ve seen and the clips I’ve got on store.

“We try to make it competitive on a Saturday but I sometimes shake my head with some of the bookings we pick up for non-contact tackles, they’re so soft. Fleck was a disappointing decision last week and now he is suspended for a game.

“I think people who watch us and our supporters have been disappointed in the attitude of some of the opposing, or opposition, players and how easy it is for them to go down, but we won’t change our approach.

“Unfortunately at times, with the speed of the Premier League and the athletes in the Premier League, if you mistime a tackle then it sometimes looks a little bit worse than what it is – especially when players are rolling about all over the place for about five minutes and then the physio doesn’t go on.

Chris Wilder stopped short of labelling players as ‘cheaters’ (Getty)

“I quite enjoy that part because I go to the physio and say: ‘Don’t worry about it mate you won’t be going on will you?’ And nine times out of 10 he doesn’t.

“He jumps up out of his dugout with his bag and then, lo and behold, the player gets up and he has to sit back down.

“It’s something that has aggravated us a little bit and it seems very common in the Premier League and it is something we haven’t really had to deal with in the Championship.”

Fleck’s fifth yellow card of the season against Aston Villa means the Scot misses the trip to Brighton as he serves a one-match ban.

Mo Besic, on loan from Everton, is most likely to replace him in the starting line-up. Wilder otherwise has a full squad available.

PA