Chris Wilder addresses Sheffield United future situation with exit admission as contract enters critical phase
Chris Wilder addresses Sheffield United future situation with exit admission as contract enters critical phase
With the January transfer window edging closer and closer, Chris Wilder is hoping to move quickly to secure the targets he believes will bolster Sheffield United’s promotion bid this season - with his own future still in the air. The Blades chief will enter the final six months of his contract in January, after signing an 18-month one when he returned to Bramall Lane last December.
The manager’s situation must be amongst the first items in the in-tray of whoever owns the club come the new year, with a US-led consortium on the brink of officially buying the Blades from current custodian Prince Abdullah. After accepting the impossible mission of turning around the Blades in the Premier League last season, Wilder has restored a great deal of pride to United this time around.
They travel to Cardiff City this afternoon top of the Championship table and having lost only twice all season so far, away to fellow promotion-chasers Leeds United and Middlesbrough in a tough period for the club following the passing of cult hero George Baldock. Their current points-per-game tally would see them finish the season on 99 points if they could sustain it for the rest of the season and United’s progress on the field is evident for all to see.
But arguably Wilder’s biggest success is restoring the connection between the club and its supporters, after a painful Premier League season which could easily have seen it severed completely. Even his few remaining doubters could argue against the job he has done and that he is the man to lead their push for promotion back to the top-flight, and beyond.
“I’m here to serve the football club,” he said when asked about his situation on the eve of the Cardiff clash. “I came back to do that and to help. I’m six months into a build and that’s pretty early in that. Everything will take care of itself.
“I’d like to think that the job we’re all doing here is being appreciated by everybody; most importantly the supporters. As soon as I don’t think anyone wants me here, then that decision will be made by me. But I’d like to think that they’re enjoying what they’re seeing and I’d love to extend, of course I would. Why would I not?”