Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell insists all his side needs to halt their slide down the Championship table is a little bit of luck.

The Blades' squad has been left wafer thin by a catalogue of injuries in recent weeks, while Blackwell also believes some controversial refereeing decisions have gone against his side.

Blackwell said: "There's nothing more you can do, but keep playing like we did against Newcastle and keep working hard and hopefully at some point certain decisions will go your way.

"We've had some harsh decisions go against us in the last few weeks, but if my players keep playing like that, there's not much wrong."

Blackwell believes Monday night's 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle hinged on referee Kevin Friend's decision to wave play on after Kevin Nolan's thumping challenge on Blades defender Kyle Walker directly led to Ryan Taylor's shot, which was deflected in off home skipper Chris Morgan.

The Blades boss added: "The referee missed a crucial decision on Kyle Walker. Those decisions change games and that seems to happen when the chips are down."