Sheffield United boss Slavisa Jokanovic believes his side need to be more serious and show more responsibility if they want to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, speaking to The Star.

The Blades suffered another frustrating loss at the weekend, going ahead through Rhian Brewster in the second minute, with the 21-year-old breaking his league duck and seemingly setting last weekend's away side on course for three points at Blackburn Rovers.

However, Tony Mowbray's men showed exceptional character to fight back and scored thrice as they consigned Jokanovic's men to yet another loss, ending what has been another unsuccessful period for United as they enter the international break.

Despite improving their form since going winless in their opening five league games of the 2021/22 campaign, the South Yorkshire outfit have failed to be anywhere near consistent enough to climb up the table and have only fallen further away from the top six after winning one point from a possible nine in their last three matches.

Coming up against recently-promoted Blackpool, a Nottingham Forest side that managed to rescue an equaliser and Rovers who suffered a crushing 7-0 home defeat in midweek to Fulham, they will see this as a huge missed opportunity to pick up points.

The Cottagers now have double the amount of points Jokanovic's side have managed to pick up this term with 38 and currently sit comfortably in second place.

This only reinforces the challenge they face if they still want to secure automatic promotion, though the fact they remain just seven points behind the top six will give them a bit of hope they can make up the difference before the end of the campaign.

But there are four key requirements the Blades will need to meet before they can think about a top-six finish according to their boss, who said to the Sheffield Star: "I believe we can be fighting for the top six.

"We are a strong team on paper. But on another side, in our real situation, we need to be more serious, show more responsibility and show better work.

"We must show more respect for our work and for ourselves and also for the team."

The Verdict:

United look like a side that are desperate for the January transfer window, because there is a noticeable disconnect between the manager and some of his players with the way the Serbian wants to play.

For a team that were so accustomed to Chris Wilder and his methods after seeing him spend nearly five years at the helm at Bramall Lane, switching to a back four and having just one up top has been a real test for a side that previously thrived in a 5-3-2 formation.

The amount of strikers the club have at their disposal with Billy Sharp, Rhian Brewster, David McGoldrick, Oli McBurnie and Lys Mousset as options just shows how much the club invested in their former manager's system and adapted their recruitment with it.

They also have very few options on the wing because of their previous formation, something they needed to address during the previous window but failed to do so after leaving most of their incoming business until the last minute.

That needs to be a lesson for the club's board as January approaches, because it will cost them promotion if they fail to recruit the players needed. The money from Aaron Ramsdale's sale to Arsenal in the summer should help them to attract these new additions.

But nonetheless, Jokanovic should be getting more out of his current players and you would certainly back him to do so in the next couple of months after winning promotion with Watford and Fulham in the past.