Chris Wilder fires warning to Sheffield United as Watford boss eyes top-two push

Chris Wilder has warned his old club Sheffield United that the race for second place in the Championship table is not “done and dusted” after being appointed as Watford boss earlier this week.

The boyhood Blade led United to two promotions in the space of three years during his time in charge at Bramall Lane, which came to an end in March 2021. After a spell at Middlesbrough, Wilder was appointed Watford boss, initially until the end of the season, earlier this week after the Hornets sacked Slaven Bilic.

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Wilder brought three men who were big parts of his Blades revolution with him to Vicarage Road and in one of his first interviews since taking charge in Hertfordshire, told the Watford Observer: “I’ve got to isolate what I can affect and have an influence over in this 11-game period. I have to control the controllables.

“One thing to remember is that 11 games is very nearly a quarter of a season. People will look at the top two and think it’s done and dusted. I think top spot is, but not second place.

“I’ve studied the Championship right the way through the season, I’ve kept my eye on everything. While I would have loved to go back to the Premier League, being realistic my next job was going to be at Championship level.

“So I’ve studied results, watched performances, seen certain teams. But the biggest thing is what’s in front of me, and not what’s already happened.

“It’s not my job to figure out the whats and whys of things that happened in the past. My job is to motivate and put a structure in place for these players to have a really good go at it. I’ve signed to the end of the season, and I’d like our season to be ending by walking up the steps at Wembley to get a trophy.”

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Second place, of course, is currently held by United, who are seven points clear of third-placed Boro and 16 ahead of Watford with 11 games of the regular season to go. Watford are four points off sixth-placed Norwich City and travel to QPR tomorrow for Wilder’s first game in charge.

“This is a great opportunity for me,” Wilder added. “I’m not naïve; I’m a bright guy and I know the history of the football club. Every club has its own model, and I know the model at Watford. When this chance came up I made the choice to come in for the final 11 games and hopefully galvanise a group of players who – putting our cards on the table – have underperformed.

“Watford should not be sat 10th in this division, but we have an opportunity, all of us – supporters, players, staff, stakeholders and me – to kickstart things. What I’ve recognised is from a technical point of view we have one of the most talented groups of players in the division.

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“From a physical perspective they’ve nearly all played in the Premier League, which is the most physical league in the world. Now I have to try and put a structure and mentality into the place to get us going.

“If we do get things rolling in the right direction, then other clubs will be thinking: ‘Oh, here they come, we’ve been expecting it’. I think the whole division has been expecting Watford to come through.

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“As an outsider I was thinking: ‘When are Watford going to catch fire?’ I kept waiting for Watford to get firing, winning one, then two, then three and going on a run.

“So we have to do that, go and win games and be positive with the right attitude. We need to win games and get points. That’s not impossible as we have the experience and we certainly have the talent.”

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