But the fixture list might just be about to give Sheffield United a break when they need it most.

Two of the next three games are against teams struggling around the foot of the table as the Blades look to put some daylight between themselves and a completely unexpected scramble to stay clear of the relegation places.

With a number of key players set to return, manager Kevin Blackwell trusts that something approaching his best team will start to close a nine point gap on the top six.

Saturday's visit of bottom team Peterborough is shaping as a pressure game in one sense. In another, it is a great opportunity to claim a first win in nine games and turn the season right around.

That said, there is no more dangerous a time to face any side than after a change of manager. Darren Ferguson's shock exit, with Kettering's Mark Cooper having become an equally surprise replacement, will not make the task any easier.

Blackwell's men face a tricky trip to Bristol City the following week but then travel to Plymouth with the prospect of points against another of the strugglers, albeit a team that has revived since Paul Mariner's appointment to Paul Sturrock's management team.

After that comes a Bramall Lane double header with Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace. Both those games will be tough. Just look at the identity of the managers.

Forest's feisty Billy Davies followed by a man who needs no introduction. Yes, Neil Warnock is again proving his enduring quality as a manager by getting Palace punching above their weight.

But if United were to claim, say, between nine and 12 points from this run of five games then their prospects will look a whole lot brighter going into Christmas games with Queens Park Rangers, Leicester and Preston. And it is a more than attainable target.

You sense that, given an easing of the injury crisis, Blackwell will raise his expectations quite considerably.

He has tolerated recent defeats, satisfied at least that patchwork teams have given their all, which is all he could ask in the circumstances.

Now he will raise the bar based on a trio of improved displays against Cardiff, Newcastle and Barnsley.

After that will come some far-reaching decisions on the shape and composition of the squad. Some of United's six loanees are due to return to their clubs, the exceptions being Kyle Walker as he is on a season-long attachment from Tottenham and Richard Cresswell if he completes a move from Stoke.

Andrew Davies's loan from Stoke ends on December 9, a situation complicated by his injury. With Matt Kilgallon possibly outward bound for a big fee, United's monitoring of Sheffield Wednesday's Richard Wood is hardly surprising.

Beyond the January window, a lot of contracts will be up next summer. But it is what happens in the near future that will shape United's immediate destiny. . . and a much-needed revival in results can kick-start the whole process.