Many observers of Sheffield United perhaps expected Femi Seriki to become an automatic starter once he is back up to full speed - but Chris Wilder is seeing the situation rather differently. Seriki is building up to full fitness after his knee issue.

He has made cameos off the bench in United’s last three games but it remains to be seen if he is risked from the start at Charlton Athletic tomorrow, which is United’s final game of this mini-run before next week’s international break.

The Blades travel south having won four of their last six games, and can go into the break in the play-offs if results go their way this weekend.

The expectation of many was that Seriki would walk back into the Blades side when he is in a position to start. But Hamza Choudhury has proved an able, if less adventurous, option in that position and is expected to keep it at The Valley.

“There are no gimmies,” Wilder said of the situation. “I've said before regarding Hamza ... I'm all over Hamza. Absolutely all over him, because I've known him a long time, I know what his attitude's about.

“I see things that other people don't see around the place. It was a real difficult season for him last season [at Leicester] and for Jordan too. So they had to recover from that.

“He can play in different positions, his versatility, his attitude towards the game, his success in the game. He was pretty much an ever-present for Enzo Maresca when he won the Championship.

“So I find it quite difficult to criticise Hamza, I will criticise him when he's not playing to the standards we expect, and I will do with every player, but he's played in one of the best sides that have played in the Championship over the last four or five years, playing for a manager who's now managing Man City.

“So that manager's quite good, and he doesn't pick players on sentiment, I don't pick players on sentiment, or because I've known him a long time. I pick players because they can do a job for us.

“So Femi’s got to get past Hamza. He’s got to get up to speed, and fight to rip that shirt off Hamza's back. That's what I need. I've talked about competition for places but there are times where you have to plot your way through.

“Players have to come out of the team physically as well to freshen it up. But I think what I'm looking for is a consistent back four. Competition for places in that, consistent midfield players, and maybe at the top of the pitch you might swap it.

“Formation-wise, there might be certain games that you might change the shape and the line-up for different challenges, but I'm looking for consistency, and Hamza's on the way to being a really consistent performer, as are a lot of the other players.

“So it's up to Femi to get that shirt off of him, as it is for Sam [McCallum] to get that shirt off H [Harrison Burrows]. Femi's got to train well, and any opportunity that comes his way, he's got to grab and take.

“Whether it's 10 minutes, whether it's half an hour, whether it's 45 minutes, whether it's 60 minutes. I'm desperate, as I've always said, for those difficult decisions to come my way, and if Femi gets up to speed, then we've got really two good players in that position.

“And Matt [Doherty] as well, in that position as well. We've got competition for places all over the pitch, and Femi is going to absolutely have to play well to shift players. And we need that if we're going to have a successful season.”