Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder makes an admission - plus his take on Jack Robinson's flare-up with Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin

The only goal of the game arrived on 31 minutes when Abdoulaye Doucoure nodded in Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s cross after he glided past Wes Fotheringham.

It enabled Everton to win a fifth consecutive Premier League home game for the first time in a campaign since 2013.

The defeat means that United have conceded a goal in all 19 of their Premier League away games this season. It’s the fourth time in their league history they’ve not kept an away clean sheet across a full campaign, along with 1898-99 (17 games), 1953-54 (21) and 1977-78 (21).

A concession also sees them register an unwanted record on their own. They have now let in 101 games, the highest number ever in a Premier League campaign. They were level with Swindon Town (1993-94) ahead of kick-off.

On whether a lack of poise in the final third has been the story of the season, he commented: "I think from game one right the way through to game 37, it has been. It was last week.

"I’ve looked at the previous eight games as well and there’s some scorelines there and I am thinking ‘how have we not got more than four points from those eight away games.’ (Crystal) Palace, Wolves, Man United, Liverpool…

"Listen, there’s all different types of games in there in terms of standard of the league. But I wouldn’t have been shocked if we’d got more results in those fixtures.

"The Newcastle one…We keep saying the same thing, whether it’s belief, personality or maybe it’s just individual quality that makes the difference. You can possibly put it in all three categories.”

On his side’s performance at Goodison Park, when they huffed and puffed, especially in the second half, but registered just one effort on target, Wilder said: “Not through rose-tinted glasses, I didn’t think it was one-way traffic. We certainly had enough opportunities to get something from the game as an away side if we executed them.

"But yet again, we haven’t taken something from the game.

"Listen, there were plenty of resolve and fight and grit, which doesn’t have to be applauded. It’s standard and should be, not just as a Sheffield United player, but as a professional footballer. There it is…

"They’ve had opportunities and we have and yet again, as I keep saying, they executed their chance and got themselves in front and had opportunities to extend that.

"We stuck and hung in there, but ultimately, we haven’t enough quality to get ourselves back in the game and get something from the game."

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A flashpoint took place in the first half when Jack Robinson shoved over Calvert-Lewin in the chest, with it being the prelude to a brief scuffle between both sets of players.

Both players were booked after a bit of argy-bargy, with VAR looked at the incident.

Wilder said: “I know it’ll be talked about, Jack’s little spat with Dom. I’ve got no issue with either player.

"They both want to win for their football clubs, and I’d like to think that Evertonians know their football as well and will understand that.

"They might have seen that in a situation or two over the years.

"You support it when it’s your team and you look at it differently when it’s against, but at least he’s showing some fight and some desire to influence his team and get them going.

"I think it’s the correct decision but I know other people will think that in modern-day football, by the letter of the law, something else should have happened.

"But I’m glad the referee and the VAR took the sensible decision.”