(Reuters) - Sheffield United are enjoying a bright start to life in the Premier League but manager Chris Wilder feels his players are still learning the ropes and can get even better with more top-flight experience.
United currently sit eighth in the league standings and will look to kick off November in a similar fashion to how they powered through October - picking up two away draws and a surprise home win over Arsenal.
Despite a limited transfer budget, the Blades have shown tactical maturity in recent games and currently hold the joint-best defensive record in the league.
"We are still newcomers into the division - this team that has come up from League One," Wilder, who took over the club in third-division in 2016, told reporters on Thursday.
"I still have to keep reminding people that that's the situation. We weren't this ridiculously powerful Championship club that has an unbelievable amount of money to spend, who were getting set for the Premier League.
"We've done it in double-quick time and the boys are still learning. We wouldn't have got the results we have if we hadn't adapted well in certain situations but we are looking to improve the players individually and as a group."
United host 13th-placed Sean Dyche's Burnley on Saturday, with the visitors looking to respond after consecutive defeats by Leicester City and Chelsea.
"I've got a lot of time for Sean. I've known him a while and he's played in these parts and I know full well his managerial career," Wilder said of his counterpart.
"They're a benchmark for clubs like ours that want to stay in the Premier League.
"Sean will be the first to admit the competition is huge and immense and sometimes you come up short and you have to quickly move on, which they've done fantastically well."
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)