ON a few separate occasions in the past week or so, Ruben Selles has revealingly dropped his guard and shown a human side – and it may prove to be no bad thing.
Last Saturday, at the end of a’really difficult week’, he acknowledged that advising Sheffield United supporters to be calm after a third defeat in a row at the start of 2025-26 came with inherent hazards.
Speaking after a 1-0 loss at Swansea City, ahead of a long journey back to South Yorkshire, he cut to the chase, deviating from the script of most newish managers in the process, and said: “I can ask them to be calm, but they are probably going to tell me to **** off, or something like that.”
A few days previously, the Spaniard had been similarly straightforward.
He stated that he was willing to accept responsibility for a summer window that, in his own words, ‘had not been good enough’ in terms of internal recruitment up to press time. Thankfully, this appears to be changing. Those above him may have been listening.
This Thursday, Selles was equally candid when asked how his prior challenging experiences at Reading, Southampton, and Hull City should have prepared him for the early problems he is facing at Bramall Lane.
“I am starting to get a little bit tired of that question because at every club I go, it’s just the same question,” he told me.
On one level, the above examples demonstrate how Selles is ‘feeling it’ at the outset of his Bramall Lane career.
It should not be interpreted as the 42-year-old simply feeling the pressure, but rather as unhappiness with how things have turned out thus far and a true sense of hurt.
It was plain-spoken, not management language. It revealed a little bit about the person behind the manager in the process and was somewhat Chris Wilder-esque.
Unitedites don’t normally mind such things, and they’ve always admired a warrior in the past. Selles’ personality differs from Wilder’s, but perhaps not significantly. The fire in his gut is present.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s game against Millwall, which already appears to be a significant one in terms of United’s development this season, Selles said: “You need to ask yourself: ‘Is that all you have to offer as a Sheffield United manager after three defeats with a team that has enough quality and togetherness to go forward?'”
“Obviously not.” I need to go discover better solutions to place my players in better positions.
“You must battle every time till the end for what you want. We (Selles and his coaching team) are here, but we have been fighting for the past three years in various conditions, and that is part of our character.
“It’s about the demands I have on myself, especially in the moment things aren’t going in the direction that you want.” You step up and say, ‘I am the one accountable,’ and you will battle for the club and its players until the finish to get the best possible performance.”
A clear week on the training ground has at least provided significant opportunity for Selles and his squad to work on a few tactical issues, ideally fostering greater team understanding.
His leadership abilities in boosting a few spirits after a rough start to the season for last season’s beaten play-off finalists will have been just as crucial, if not more so.
Selles, whose team suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Bristol City in their home opener a fortnight ago, added: “Obviously, following the last week’s results, we wanted to dive a little bit deeper into the personal aspects.
“As a human being, when things do not go your way, you attempt to be a little more introverted and perceive it as more about yourself than the image for the entire team.
“The way we work is that everything is focused on the individual – the person who works for us.
“They have to understand that everything is not going to go there (right) in the game and when it is not going in our direction, we should have a platform where we can reload and go again.”
Some much-needed transfer market breakthroughs, with defenders Ben Godfrey and Nils Zatterstrom increasing United’s defensive numbers, appear to be quite timely for not only Selles, but also the club and its supporters.
Importantly, it will go down well with United’s players.
“It’s not just about me and the fans; it’s a shared feeling,” Selles added.
“It’s an issue of competitiveness (for players), and your position isn’t assured.
“You want it to be, but also want someone else coming into battle to get the very best of you.”
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