Sheffield United: Chris Wilder outlines Blades' not-so-secret weapon against Wednesday in the Steel City Derby

But rather than claiming personal responsibility for transforming a relationship which not so long ago appeared fractured beyond repair, the 50-year-old believes Bramall Lane’s first team squad deserve all the credit given their willingness to put the club before themselves.

“I think, what the fans can see, is a group of lads who are ready to give everything,” he says. “There’s no egos, they don’t get in the way, they’re always thinking of the team first. No matter what else, if your players are willing to have a real go, to leave nothing in the dressing room, then you’ll always get backing. That attitude, that approach, is a prerequisite here.”

United were sleepwalking towards mediocrity when Wilder, fresh from leading Northampton Town to promotion, was appointed 20 months ago. Anger had turned to apathy and, despite still pulling in the crowds, their stadium could hardly be described as a place where opponents feared to tread. But tomorrow night, when Sheffield Wednesday make the short journey across town, it will be a bear pit as Wilder’s side attempts to complete the double over its arch-rivals.

Although last season’s march to the League One title contributed to this improvement, combined with results and performances in the Championship since, there has also been a cultural shift behind the scenes. United’s budget might be a source of frustration for Wilder and his staff. But those very same financial constraints have helped bring the players closer to the people.

“I think, in the past, you’ve seen lads leave this club for £50,” Wilder, citing recent decisions by the likes of John Fleck, Chris Basham and Jack O’Connell to sign new contracts, continues. “That probably says something about the environment that has been at this club. They have not batted an eyelid for moving. You’re in an age where professional footballers will always get stick for the amount they get paid. It’s been like that for the last 30 or 40 years, after Jimmy Hill ripped-up the rule book. If it came to it, where players have the chance of life-changing money, I’d understand that and wouldn’t stand in their way. But the lads here, even though we can’t offer them what they could almost certainly get somewhere else, they’ve all wanted to come on board.”

Not a single United player, Wilder points-out, earns more than the division’s average wage. The vast majority, you suspect, bank well below. However, instead of using this as an excuse for sub-standard performances, he has actually turned their lack of monetary muscle into a positive.

“I don’t think people should underestimate what we have done to get these boys to sign,” Wilder explains. “Quite easily, they could all go and earn bigger money elsewhere than they do here. All of the things we pride ourselves on - what we do around the training ground, the way the players are treated by the club, the love and respect our supporters have for the players because they always give 100 per cent - is replicated by them who re-sign here because they are enjoying their football.”

Wilder uses Clarke’s refusal to entertain offers from elsewhere, despite entering the meeting with Wednesday at the competition’s leading goalscorer, to ram home his message.

“That commitment shouldn’t go under the radar and, do you know what, I think maybe it did with Leon,” he says. “That boy could have earned double what he is getting here. In an age of professional footballers, where people talk about money and greedy footballers, well that ain’t a greedy footballer and neither are any of our players.”

“When Leon signed, he could quite easily have gone ‘I am the Championship’s top goalscorer and I’m going to cash in.’

“If he have come to me and said ‘this is my last big contract, I need to squeeze the most out of it I can,’ then you could understand it and appreciate where he was coming from. But he didn’t. He wanted to stop. People should recognise that.”

The fact United, dismissed as a “Pub Team” by some Wednesday followers before September’s contest between the two sides, came out on top is in no small part down to the sense of belonging and comradeship Wilder has created behind the scenes. Indeed, seventh in the table despite a budget which suggests they should be battling relegation, United have emerged as a cause celebre for those who believe football is about more than chequebooks and balance sheets.

“Our boys don’t sign here for the big bucks,” Wilder admits. “They want to earn a decent living of course and I’m not going to pretend they don’t.

“What they do sign for is because they’ve bought into this football club and the way we want to do things. That gives me a lot of pride and satisfaction, the fact players are prepared to come here because they’re happy and content.”

That difference in approach - Wednesday’s owner Dejphon Chansiri has sanctioned a series of multi-million pound deals since his takeover - makes this fixture even more intriguing. Likewise, the tactics both teams employ although Jos Luhukay’s appointment could prompt a sea-change in thinking across the city. What is certain, however, is that United’s gameplan will not change.

After making an explosive start against Wednesday last time out - Fleck and Clarke were both on target during the first quarter-of-an-hour - the hosts hope to bludgeon their way to victory once again.

“There’s no secret to how we go about things,” Wilder, whose side won 4-2 thanks to further efforts from Clarke and Duffy, says. “We’ll always look to give it a go, even though we might make a few little tweaks, as we go along, here and there.

“We do that because, firstly I think it suits us, but also because I think that’s what the supporters want to see. I enjoy watching us and, when you pay good money to come and watch, it’s vital that fans enjoy it too.”