Chris Wilder embraces Sheffield United "naivety" as Bramall Lane babes prepare for Millwall test of character

Tomorrow evening, when he walks out of the tunnel at The Den and is hit by a wall of noise from the home supporters around him, Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder may allow his mind to wander back to one of his early experiences of life in Millwall’s back yard. “I got sent off there, as a 20-year-old kid,” smiled Wilder, at the memory of the experience at the old Cold Blow Lane.

“I went for a tackle with Jimmy Carter, and he slowed down. I always blame him every time I see him, and tell him that he got me sent off! I managed to go over the ball and go crashing into him, right at the far end of the old ground, and had to walk 100 yards down the touchline. That was a bit of an experience, that. It'll stay with me forever.”

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United lost 3-1 that day, between Christmas and new year in 1987, and Wilder’s memory is pertinent 37 years on as he prepares to return to London and lead his young Bramall Lane babes into the Lions’ Den. Several members of his squad will be experiencing the hostile Millwall “welcome” for the first time and the youthful naivety in such situations could actually work to their advantage.

“We have experienced players, and their influence will be key,” said Wilder. “Those boys are here because they know, when we go to those types of places, we have to get a result. We're not milky at all, we're not a superstar team that wins four, five or six and then doesn't turn up in certain games. We have to show that consistency. I’ve got issue with our boys on that front, from an experience point of view.

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“When you go to the big boys, to play Man United and Liverpool and the likes, then that naivety and inexperience can get you through it, because you haven't been scarred by anything before. We're ready for it and we're looking forward to it. It's a Sheffield United type of game, against a team and a manager I've got a lot of respect for, and a club that I have a little bit of fondness about.”

As Wilder reminded after Sunday’s creditable 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion, at one stage of that game United had six players aged 22 or under on the pitch. The likes of Sydie Peck (20) and Ryan One (18) have been regulars in United’s squad this season while new arrivals Alfie Gilchrist (21), Harrison Burrows (22) and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (22) are also enjoying their first taste of a Championship promotion push.

The youthful nature of his squad means that Wilder has had to change his approach slightly, allowing for the potential fluctuation in performances from young players who, to their credit, have belied their relative inexperience to help mount a challenge for an instant return to the Premier League last season.

“Maybe a while back, in those last 10 or 15 minutes [at West Brom], I’d have been banging my head on the dugout wall,” Wilder said. “Because it felt like a real game of basketball. You're not trying to curb their ambition, but you want a bit of control. There's a different feel to it.

“There is a bit of naivety, like when we're rushing to take a throw-in and I'm thinking: ‘We need to settle down and take the temperature out of the game a little bit.’ But naivety will be overcome by experience and the experienced boys will have a part to play. I've seen the eventualities, Jack Robinson and the other senior boys have seen what can happen when you're a little bit gung-ho.

“So their influence will be key. It's getting the balance right but I can't criticise the players or their attitude. Yeah, they will have little peaks and little troughs during games, and from game-to-game. But we have to roll with it and they'll come through it with experience. But they've been pretty consistent, and we're delighted with that.”