Chris Wilder rejects Sheffield United comparison with Southampton as boss senses light at end of "painful" tunnel
Sheffield United supporters have watched Southampton's rise through the division with a pang of envy given the two sides suffered similarly below-par starts to the season. But manager Chris Wilder insists that any comparison between the two sides is not fair.
Both went into the season with high expectations, and both suffered surprisingly below-par starts. But that is where the similarities end for Sheffield United and Southampton, with manager Chris Wilder insisting that any further comparisons are wide of the mark.
The Saints have turned their season around to fly up the Championship table following the arrival of Tonda Eckert in December, and have won seven of their last eight games to put themselves firmly in the automatic promotion picture.
United, in contrast, have struggled to reach the same level of consistency and travel to Watford tomorrow safe from relegation, which was a very real possibility earlier in the season, but marooned in 17th.
Chris Wilder rejects Sheffield United comparison with Southampton as boss senses light at end of "painful" tunnel
Some Unitedites have drawn comparisons between the two sides, suggesting that their side could have turned their own season around in similarly spectacular fashion. But Wilder rejected that idea, insisting: “I'm always excited about working for this football club. I think there's always a bright future ahead of us and we've had to go through a bit of pain.
“We dreamt as soon as I came in. Could we do this, could we do that? Obviously, the job was a bigger job than I first expected it to be, in terms of the damage that was done in the first five games.
“We were never a Southampton where the squad was absolutely set to do well. Congratulations to them. They've had a fabulous run, but I don't think the comparison is there on a lot of fronts. There's been pain right the way through, and you have to sometimes feel that pain. We have done.
“We have to learn, be better, put a plan out there, restore the results back into the football club that we're used to gaining and getting. And be excited about what we can achieve. It's the first season for a long time where there's nothing on it, and I don't like that.
“We have to take stock as we have done, learn, accept what we need to do and move forward in terms of adjusting things and being better for the experience that we've gone through. Nobody wanted to go through the period that we've gone through and I should imagine the owners would be saying exactly the same.
“It's been a season that nobody would have wanted off the back of what was a predominantly positive season last year. I know that pain of what happened after Wembley more than possibly anybody does [after subsequently leaving in the summer before returning in September] and I’m determined to change that around.”