Chris Wilder couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season for his Sheffield United side; 12 games into their league campaign, the Blades occupy top spot in the Championship. 

United are unbeaten in their last five league matches and have won their previous four games, and Wilder's men, more importantly, have lost just one of their last ten games.

The club have made a rapid rise to the top, after only being promoted from League One two seasons ago, and after only just missing out on promotion last season, they look to be a real deal for promotion this term.

With an international break now on the horizon, this gives Wilder a fortnight or so to not only prepare for a crunch match away to Derby County, but also to reflect on what has been, on the whole, a magnificent month for the Yorkshire club.

With that being said, here, we take a look at a couple of lessons that Wilder would have learnt about his Sheffield United side after the first 12 games of the season.

Perhaps one of the biggest lessons Wilder has learned is that his side need to fear no-one.

United are often looked upon as the "underdogs" in the Championship; they were the tipped as the bookies' 8th favourite to get promoted this season after no real marquee signings in the summer, except perhaps John Egan from Brentford for a fee of £4million.

But they are the team everyone is chasing at the moment after gutsy performances against Millwall and Blackburn Rovers, and this is really all down to Wilder's management.

Up front, the Blades tend to start 32-year old Billy Sharp and 30-year old David McGoldrick, who have scored some very important goals this season for the club.

The pair have scored 12 league goals in 12 league appearances between them this season, which shows that despite being past their prime, their age really does not matter.