Sheffield United: Chris Wilder has more pressing concerns than a potential touchline ban

Chris Wilder is more concerned about the prospect of entering Sunday's derby at Sheffield Wednesday without a fully fit centre-forward than a potential touchline ban.
Chris Wilder manager of Sheffield Utd is sent to the stands by the referee Scott Duncan. Simon Bellis/SportimageChris Wilder manager of Sheffield Utd is sent to the stands by the referee Scott Duncan. Simon Bellis/Sportimage
Chris Wilder manager of Sheffield Utd is sent to the stands by the referee Scott Duncan. Simon Bellis/Sportimage

The Sheffield United manager was sent to the stands during last weekend’s meeting with Norwich City and will discover if he faces further punishment when referee Scott Duncan submits his report.

But, speaking after the 1-0 defeat, Wilder revealed he had been provoked by the time-wasting tactics Daniel Farke’s team employed following Yanic Wildschut’s first-half goal.

Ched Evans of Sheffield Utd reacts after missing a chance to score against Norwich. Simon Bellis/SportimageChed Evans of Sheffield Utd reacts after missing a chance to score against Norwich. Simon Bellis/Sportimage
Ched Evans of Sheffield Utd reacts after missing a chance to score against Norwich. Simon Bellis/Sportimage
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“I don’t know, we will have to deal with that if it happens,” Wilder replied when asked if he feared being banned from the dug-out at Hillsborough. “I would be disappointed. The thing I said to the referee is this is a passionate game.

“Should I have stepped into their technical area? By the letter of the law, possibly not.

“Should he (the referee) have gone to me and said ‘next time you step into the technical area, I am going to send you to the stand’. That puts me on a warning.”

“Fair enough, I did wrong,” Wilder added. “I booted the ball back, stepped into their technical area. There’s obviously a couple of bottles in front of the ball, which went a bit. I didn’t injure anybody, cause any harm to anybody.

Ched Evans of Sheffield Utd reacts after missing a chance to score against Norwich. Simon Bellis/SportimageChed Evans of Sheffield Utd reacts after missing a chance to score against Norwich. Simon Bellis/Sportimage
Ched Evans of Sheffield Utd reacts after missing a chance to score against Norwich. Simon Bellis/Sportimage
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“I wasn’t picking the ball up and chucking it in the stand, throwing it at the referee. I have passed the ball back to get the game going.”

Wilder’s previous good character means he likely to escape with a warning when the governing body reviews the incident this week. But captain Billy Sharp, Clayton Donaldson and Leon Clarke are in danger of missing the visit to Wednesday due to injury. With Caolan Lavery and James Hanson already confined to the treatment room, United were forced to name Ched Evans in their starting eleven against City, despite confirming he requires ankle surgery.

Wilder, insisting his team deserved to take something from the game, said: “Whatever team we can muster together to go there (Hillsborough), we will go there competitive and in good spirits.

“We are back in Tuesday, those players have run through brick walls for me and the football club and not really got their rewards.”

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“They have not got anything to feel sorry for themselves about.

“They can be disappointed not to get something. Whether we deserved to win, who knows, but I thought we deserved something from the game. It’s a great game (the Sheffield derby) to look forward to.”