Jack O’Connell sends positive message to Sheffield United fans as Blades look for Millwall reaction

United’s 3-1 defeat to third-placed Boro saw their advantage cut to seven points, although Paul Heckingbottom’s side do still have a superior goal difference and a game in hand.

But the abrupt end of their 13-game unbeaten run in all competitions has led to some panic amongst supporters, especially with a tough-looking trip to fellow promotion hopefuls Millwall up next on Saturday at The Den.

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Gary Rowett’s men have dropped out of the play-offs but are only a point shy of sixth-placed Watford, with two games in hand on the Hornets, and will be keen to make up some ground on Saturday afternoon against the Blades.

And O’Connell, joined on SUTV punditry duty by former teammate Mark Duffy, said: “At the end of the day, [Boro] were just the better team. Our lads have done fantastically well over the past few weeks and I think we were never going to go unbeaten until the end of the season anyway.

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“So it was going to come at some point. For me it’s about the reaction now and how we react at Millwall away.

“Even when we were playing, we always reacted. I think this football club, you don’t really go two or three games getting beat. We always have a positive reaction, and I expect no different on the weekend.”

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United were victorious on their last trip to The Den, in their FA Cup third-round tie last month, but will face a much more intimidating atmosphere this time around.

“It’s all about the next game now, and how you bounce back and react to it,” Duffy added. “The lads will be disappointed, of course, because they have personal pride and want to win every game. Especially at home.

“Millwall’s a tricky place to go, notoriously. We’ve been there and it’s a very hostile place to go and play football. So they’ll have to regroup, think about the game and then see how the bodies are. Because the [Boro clash] was a physical one as well.”