GARY Madine didn’t step foot on the pitch after kick-off, and yet he was one of the few players to have their reputation enhanced by a potentially damaging defeat at Bramall Lane.

Thanks to his video tribute to Billy Sharp, this trip to the Steel City had already been spiced up with a generous helping of Henderson’s Relish.

Footage had done the rounds on social media and been used as a motivational tool by the Blades’ coaching camp – and wouldn’t you just know that Sharp would deliver the goods?

Two goals took his tally to 23 for the season and handed Sheffield United a surely-unassailable lead at the top of League One.

Whether Wanderers can join them in the Championship next season might depend on the young man who trudged dejectedly back towards the team coach after being told by Phil Parkinson he was not fit to play at 1.30pm.

Watching Parkinson’s side try to cope with his absence – let alone that of Jay Spearing and Andy Taylor – made for a depressing 90 minutes.

His replacement Conor Wilkinson made his first Bolton start since January 2015, after which a succession of loan moves have done little to convince he can regularly lead the line at League One level.

Adam Le Fondre, his partner in attack, looked equally lost. Playing either too close to Wilkinson, or miles apart, no amount of busy running can disguise the fact he is struggling to find a niche in this Wanderers team since his return.

Parkinson’s team have lacked the heart and leadership of Taylor and Spearing for the last couple of games – though it must be said, Dean Moxey had one of his most productive afternoons in the left wing-back role. The team did not melt as they did early on at Bradford, neither did they dig in and fight, as they had done in the second half at Valley Parade. It made for aimless viewing.

Le Fondre managed Wanderers’ one-and-only shot on target, a daisy cutter from distance. And by the time Parkinson changed the front line with 20 minutes to go, someone forgot to tell the rest of the team that two sub-6ft strikers – Max Clayton and the fit-again Chris Long – might have benefited from a less direct approach.

Both managers tried their hand at a few mind games in the build-up, Wilder getting on the moral high horse about Madine’s video footage – in which he effectively branded Sharp ‘overweight’ – and Parkinson questioning whether the home supporters were starting to get nervous after blowing promotion on a few occasions from this position.

When Madine’s name did not appear on the team-sheet the conspiracy theories started to flow. Windows on the team bus did get ‘egged’ on its way into the car park but the striker stepped off the bus and into the stadium all smiles.

Whether anything happened behind the scenes between then and 1.30pm, when Parkinson informed him in front of the dugouts that he was not playing, we may never know. The manager said he was suffering from the same illness Ben Alnwick had last week, the one which cost him a place in the side, and who are we to argue?

Away form has been an issue for some time at Bolton, and particularly in the month of February, where the club’s last victory came against Reading in 2008 – a game more notable for the debut of Gary Cahill.

The last win on the road this season was back in November and it is hard to imagine an automatic promotion campaign could be maintained with that kind of record.

Wanderers contained, rather than commanded, early on at Bramall Lane. The home support was not nearly as raucous as the previous week at Bradford, but just as Josh Cullen had done seven days earlier, it was a diminutive midfielder who was running the show.

If there is a better playmaker in League One than John Fleck, I haven’t seen him. And once again the former Coventry City man caused no end of problems for the Whites.

David Wheater, so solid again at the back, cleared an early volley from Josh Wright off the line but could only watch as Fleck dissected fellow centre-back Mark Beevers to play Sharp in for his first goal on 20 minutes.

The Blades striker cupped his ear to the Bolton support, perched high up in the Bramall Lane stand, with swathes of empty seats below.

Wanderers’ best chance of getting back into the game was a set piece. Madine’s absence did cause issues but with Wheater, Beevers and Tom Thorpe to aim at, there was still considerable threat. Unfortunately, neither Felipe Morais nor James Henry managed to deliver consistent quality.

Thorpe was poleaxed by a chest-high challenge from Fleck – a red card in Parkinson’s book – but crucially, not in the opinion of Premier League ref Mike Dean. The Whites midfielder ended up leaving the field, causing further disruption.

Sheffield United stretched the game in the second half and Samir Carruthers’ introduction exploited a number of holes in the midfield.

The former MK Dons man nearly scored with an incredible mazy run but then blotted his copybook with a frankly pathetic dive under non-existent contact from David Wheater.

Sharp duly despatched another and it was game over. He could have wrapped up a hat-trick, denied at close range by Howard, but the damage was already done.

Wanderers have to move on and appreciate they are still in a handy position with games in hand. Bristol Rovers and AFC Wimbledon come to the Macron in the next week and with Madine, Spearing and Taylor back in contention, there is perhaps reason to give one bad afternoon a touch of perspective.