Chris Wilder's reaction after Sheffield United tumbled out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle with defeat to Cardiff City. Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield
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00:00Their fringe players were better than our fringe players. Their younger players were
00:05better than our younger players. It's as simple as that. I'm massively frustrated because
00:10of course I'd have loved to have put a stronger team out, but it would have been suicidal
00:13and I have to take that responsibility and if people behind me want to shout and bawl
00:17at me, I get it. But come the Norwich game, if any of those boys were out injured and
00:24we don't get players over the line because it's a difficult window to get players in
00:27and to get players in early and some of the boys that we're expected to get back don't
00:33get back, then we're going into the last 20th game of the season with a team that's really
00:39struggling. So it would have been suicidal of me. So I have to take that responsibility.
00:45Disappointed with some of the boys. They should have been better and there was an opportunity
00:50for them that have not played a lot of football to really impress. Always an opportunity to
00:54impress. A couple of young boys I didn't think did as well as they should be and it is really
00:59where we are at the moment. It's not me apologising because I've given plenty of information what
01:07this was going to look like tonight. I would have liked it to have looked a lot better
01:11in terms of the performance from the players that gave the opportunity. Gave the ball away
01:16cheaply in poor areas, but you're chucking a team together and you're expecting it to
01:20float. Yeah, they're chucking a team together and they just float a little bit better than
01:23us. They're into the next round of the FA Cup, we're out, but I think everybody recognises
01:28and realises. I can't chuck a season away by losing Gus Emel, by losing Callum O'Hare,
01:33by losing three or four of the players, by losing Anel and then having one centre-half.
01:38So if I had put Anel on tonight and something had happened to him, I would have had one
01:41centre-half. So that's just a small example. So yeah, these are things that I have to make
01:46and people have to trust me in terms of decision. It's not a great situation. We're in nine
01:53or ten out, but there won't be nine or ten out for the Norwich game and that has to be
01:58the main event and the last 20 games of our season have to be the main event. Disappointing
02:02to lose, of course, and don't like it, of course, but bigger picture for me.
02:07Were you tempted to put Gus or Callum on?
02:10Of course I was! Of course I was! Of course I was tempted. I love losing at home at Bramall Lane,
02:17of course I do. Of course I was and people have to hold me back because I want to chuck
02:26the goalkeeper on up front and see what we can do. But yeah, we don't get into this situation,
02:34we don't have the season that we're having by having a losing mentality. We don't have
02:38the seasons that we've had over numerous years. Like I said to the players before,
02:42you know, we came in here, we were an easy, soft touch right the way through. I want us
02:46to be stronger. I want us to go well in every competition, win pre-season games, win end
02:50of season games, win under-21s, win under-18s, win under-15s, of course, that's what we're
02:55all trying to do. And yeah, I would have loved to have tried to get something from the game,
02:59but I have to be realistic, we've talked about it long enough, we were light at the start
03:06of the season and now we lose nine players. It's not like one or two, it's nine players.
03:13You have 50% of them tonight and then you give yourself a lot more of an opportunity
03:18and a chance of winning games in football. So, like I said, I'm not going on the back foot
03:22or defensive, it's just what it is. We all want to have a really positive, strong last 20 games
03:30of the season. You bring two or three players in, what we're desperately trying to do and trying
03:36to work on and we're seeing progression on that, then this picture looks different. And if we'd
03:41have got through, then it would have looked a lot different in the fourth round and then
03:44we'd have had a stronger squad. I want to win games, but we really have to be selective tonight
03:53and it is disappointing because, as I said, I thought some of the boys there that I was
03:57expecting better performances from didn't produce the performances I was expecting.
04:05And I thought a couple of the young kids, two or three of them, I thought Billy Blacker was
04:10excellent in the middle of the park, I thought he can be delighted with his performance. I thought
04:14Baptiste at centre-half was positive in his approach. I think a couple of the others,
04:22Opportunity, I'll keep saying it, my favourite one, when they put their head on the pillar tonight,
04:26they'll feel that there's a missed opportunity for them to really impress me and really impress
04:31our supporters tonight.