Inside Chris Wilder's first week back at Sheffield United as methods get reaction in survival bid

Chris Wilder had waited exactly 998 days for the chance to return to his boyhood club and after his Sheffield United reappointment was confirmed a week ago, wasted no time in making clear to his players the standards he expects from them. Wilder called a meeting on his first day back as Blades boss and stressed his belief in those in front of him, and the need for the club to reconnect with the supporters.

Just days earlier Unitedites in the away end at Burnley had booed their players, with chants of "You're not fit to wear the shirt" drifting into the cold Turf Moor air as the Blades slumped to the lowest point of their season in a 5-0 hammering that proved the final act for boss Paul Heckingbottom. He had enough credit in the bank to earn a crack at the games against Burnley and Bournemouth but the manner of United's defeats against two of their relegation rivals, rather than just the defeats themselves, persuaded the United board to act.

Heckingbottom said his farewells to United's player earlier in the week, with skipper John Egan amongst the voices to speak before the popular former manager and Stuart McCall left Shirecliffe for the final time. Wilder's appointment was brisk, with an 18-month deal agreed and announced shortly before he faced the media ahead of Wednesday night's home clash with Liverpool.

With time so tight United worked on some tactical and physical work, with Wilder deviating from United's usual shape and electing to play a 4-3-3 against Jurgen Klopp's side. But a lot of focus was placed on the mental side of preparation, with a series of short meetings explaining what is required and what the coaching staff expect. Familiar faces in Alan Knill and Matt Prestridge have been heavily involved on the training ground while Wilder described himself as being "re-energised" by working with Jack Lester and Keith Andrews for the first time.

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Lester, who worked under Heckingbottom as United's striker coach and remained in post at Shirecliffe under Wilder with Heckingbottom's full blessing, and former Republic of Ireland No.2 Andrews held individual and position-specific meetings with United's squad to try and get Wilder's message over. While time "on the grass", to use a Wilder phrase, has been limited to ensure United didn't burn themselves out ahead of the meetings with Liverpool and Brentford, there have been long hours put in by the coaching staff - even if meetings were kept short.

"I don't want to overkill that, sit and watch videos for two or three hours and bore the arse off them," said Wilder. "Because you lose them. You lose them after 10 or 15 minutes. We, the coaching staff, are the ones who get in about seven in the morning and leave about seven at night, but that's okay because we're not playing. And we want to make the whole thing better."

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When out on the training pitch, though, Wilder was keen not to waste a moment and oversaw passing drills while barking out rapid-fire encouragement like a sergeant major and repeating his mantra: "Don't be safe." James McAtee and Anel Ahmedhodzic were amongst the players singled out for individual conversations before Wilder sprung something of a surprise by deciding Andre Brooks, the 20-year-old with less than 20 minutes of career Premier League football under his belt, would start against Liverpool. As well as being impressed by the youngster's attitude and ability, Wilder felt that Brooks did not carry the same scars as some of his teammates who had been humbled by Bournemouth and Burnley. He was right.

Brooks' display against £60m Dominik Szoboszlai and Co. earned rave reviews and embodied perfectly everything a Wilder side should be - courageous and confident but competent, too. Brooks was surprised to find out he would be starting on the eve of the game and wouldn't have had much of a clue from Wilder's brief chat with him earlier in the day during training. Wilder pulled him to one side, said: "It's only Liverpool, innit?" before walking off and leaving the 20-year-old a little bemused.

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Some of the players standing in front of Wilder knew all about him and his methods; others had less of an idea. All were reminded of his non-negotiables - amongst them work ethic, determination, bravery. Players were warned that if they didn't look to get on the ball, if they hid in the "skinny angles" that made it look like they were demanding possession, they would be substituted; whether it was the first minute or the last.

United's players were told to get into the mindset that training meant something, and then that attitude would transfer into matchday. "A tackle is a tackle but I don't want people murdering each other," warned Wilder. Some may have got too carried away; midfielder John Fleck subsequently missed the Brentford game after taking a whack in training.

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"I'm not a comedian, cracking jokes for 20 minutes, or singing songs," said Wilder when asked about how he would approach the task of lifting his players. "But we have to set an example with body language and positivity. You don't win games of football with your head on your b******s; you've got to motivate yourself. Everyone has worked so hard to be here.

"If we didn't want to be in the Premier League, we should have chucked it with five games to go last season. But they didn't. There has to be structure and discipline but a bit of ambition as well. If I didn't believe we could stay up I wouldn't have taken the job. It'll be difficult, and we have to go through a lot of hard work to get there. But I believe it can be done."