'I'm a man of integrity' - Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder fumes at EFL after Covid-19 "decimates" his side ahead of Sheffield United clash

Boro appealed to the English Football League to get the game postponed after a number of cases – thought to be as many as 20 – amongst their squad and staff.

Former Blades staff members Alan Knill and Matt Prestridge are understood to have tested positive, along with as many as nine of Wilder’s first-choice players.

But the EFL have so far refused Boro’s appeals, with Wilder forced to recall a number of players out on loan to fill his bench at Bramall Lane.

"It's possibly been the most difficult 48 hours of my managerial career,” Wilder, who left United in March after leading them to two promotions, admitted.

“That says a lot.

“The game is on. We've talked to the EFL, who have told us we need to do everything we can to get it on.

"We have a number of players that are available and what they've wanted us to do is supplement that group with players out on loan. I can't get my head around that.

"I'll be making a call to Steve Cooper to see if we can have Djed Spence back to sit on the bench. And the same with Lewis Wing [from Sheffield Wednesday]. And Rumarn Burrell. We have players travelling down on their own to Sheffield.

"The blunt message we keep getting back from the EFL is: ‘You have an obligation to fulfil this fixture'.

"People have been cutting corners. We're not. This is genuine. I'm not that type of manager, this isn't that type of club.

"This is 100 per cent a covid outbreak. We have one injury, and he could play for 30 minutes. Let's put the cards on the table. Will some clubs have bent the rules to dodge a fixture? In my opinion, 100 per cent.

"I'm a man of integrity and honesty. I will play a game anywhere against anybody on a level playing field. We have been absolutely decimated from a player and staff point of view."

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