Selles out to find a cure for Blades' play-off hangover

BRAMALL LANE may resemble an oasis of calm in comparison to the turmoil at Hillsborough — but there are no guarantees in the red half of Sheffield when the Championship season kicks off this weekend.

- By Neil Squires

Sheffield United are one of the favourites for promotion to the Premier League, but they will first have to shake off the hangover from their playoff final defeat by Sunderland in May.

Only six of the 21 clubs beaten in the playoff final have gone on to win promotion the following season since the second tier was rebranded.

One of them was Leeds last season, but history shows they were the exception rather than the rule.