Chris Wilder hailed Sheffield United’s 2-0 victory over Preston as a “new beginning” after their relegation from the Premier League.
On the opening night of the Championship season, Oliver Arblaster opened the scoring with a 12th-minute effort that deflected into the net via Adrian Hughes.
Preston held firm well until Gustavo Hamer took advantage of a Freddie Woodman howler to add a second in the 55th minute and Wilder was in buoyant mood.
“It’s a really good start,” the Blades boss said. “I’m delighted for the supporters after what was an incredibly difficult season when we all had to suffer.
“It’s a new start, a new beginning and I thought the way we played was outstanding.
“We showed we can play a different way. We controlled the tempo and pace of the game. I thought the two in midfield were incredible and dominated that area of the pitch.
“I keep saying it’s a fresh beginning. Not being disrespectful, that includes my period (last season) as well. This is a new team with the biggest amount of changes of any club in the Championship this season.
“We still have work to do and there is a hell of a long way to go and a hell of a lot of work to do.
“We will have difficult days but we have to enjoy days like this as well because of the incredible nature of the Premier League and what that was all about last year.”
Preston manager Ryan Lowe backed Woodman after his error.
It was a mistake at a vital point in the game but the home boss refused to throw his goalkeeper under the bus, despite admitting his frustrations.
“(The mistake) sucks the life out of you, the players, the staff. You think, ‘Oh, can that really happen?’. But there’s no blame culture on Freddie. He’s been fantastic for us.
“He’s pushed himself to get back for this game after a slight niggle. When keepers make mistakes you get punished like that.
“We had some good moments. We were coming up against a quality opposition and a quality manager who knows the league inside out. We knew it was going to be tough but to stay in the game like we did for large parts (was impressive).
“We’ve lost to an ex-Premier League team that’s come down. Did we give them a run for their money? Yes we did. Was it good enough at the top end to potentially get more chances? No, but we know that and we need to be better at the other end with our decision making, but it’s constructive criticism.”
