Wilder hails Burnley and Leeds quality after ´insane´ season

Chris Wilder hailed the quality of Burnley and Leeds United after they beat Sheffield United to automatic promotion after an “insane” Championship season.

Burnley’s 2-1 win over United on Monday confirmed the Clarets’ automatic promotion, as well as Leeds’, meaning Wilder’s side will be competing in the play-offs this season.

The top two sit on 94 points with two games remaining, with the winner of the division yet to be decided, though Leeds currently have the advantage due to a superior goal difference.

United had been in the automatic promotion race for much of the campaign, spending 143 days in the top two.

However, after losing four of their last five matches, a run in which they only beat relegation-threatened Cardiff City, they dropped down to third.

Wilder noted the standard of the top two following the defeat to Burnley, noting how well his team have performed to push them this far.

“For those two teams to have the ability to hit 100 points shows what the division is like, and we’re the third-best team in the division,” he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

“The season went to the 44th game, and we had a right go, and created some good chances.

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“The goals [against Burnley] have killed us. We conceded two poor goals – we have to do better on the clearance, and the penalty hands the initiative back to them.

“We would have needed 95, 96, 97 points to go up. It’s an insane season.”

United were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, having accumulated just 16 points and three wins.

They will finish third in the Championship this season and still have the opportunity to make a swift return to the top-flight.

Despite their recent drop in form, Wilder is targeting a strong finish in their last two games of the season to go into the play-offs on a high.

“There will be some big games now,” Wilder added. “The home game [of the play-offs] at Bramall Lane will be off the scale.

“We’ve got to dust ourselves down and go again, and we will do that. We want to go and get 90-odd points. That’s the target.”