On the third anniversary of Sheffield United's first promotion under Chris Wilder, the building blocks of that success are still in place today

Seven of those who featured in the win over Northampton Town, which saw the visitors return to the Championship at the sixth time of asking, remain members of the squad that sat seventh in the top-flight before competition was suspended due to coronavirus. Four started last month’s game against Norwich City; United’s last appearance on a football pitch ahead of the enforced shutdown.

The fact that John Fleck, Jack O’Connell, Chris Basham and Billy Sharp, whose first-half strike condemned Daniel Farke’s side to defeat, still remain integral members of Wilder’s first team is testament not only to their ability to improve, learn and progress but also a recruitment strategy which focuses on identifying unfulfilled potential.

Despite smashing their transfer record countless times since, it is a blueprint Wilder and his coaching staff still follow now. Even though, as the arrival of Sander Berge, Panos Retsos and Richairo Zivkovic demonstrated during the most recent window, United’s scouts are now scouring overseas markets as well as those closer to home.

“There’s a lot of snobbery in football,” Wilder explained, as he traced his club’s journey through the divisions and back into the big time following more than a decade away. “I still think there’s people who think ‘well, if he’s playing for them then he can’t be up to much.’ Or ‘If he’s there, then I don’t think he’s up to it.’ But very often, that’s not the case at all.

“Rather than look at the badge on the front of the shirt, and I mean that with all due respect to every club out there because that’s exactly what they deserve, you’ve also got to look at the person inside of it and see how they might be able to fit in to what you’re doing and their ability to get better.”

Basham and Sharp were already in situ when Wilder replaced Nigel Adkins at the helm in May 2016. But Fleck and O’Connell, two of the first acquisitions he made after being unveiled to the media, must rank among the finest signings of his managerial career.

Fleck, once touted as Scotland’s answer to Wayne Rooney after graduating from Rangers’ youth system in his native Glasgow, could hardly be described as unknown when he agreed a move to South Yorkshire.

But it is fair to say he had been treading water with Coventry City, United’s then third tier rivals, after joining them following the creation of a newco at Ibrox. It is remarkable to think, given that he has scored five times this term, that Wilder was able to secure Fleck’s services on a free.

“I want him to be a lifer here at Bramall Lane,” Wilder said, after the player agreed a new and improved contract with United earlier this season. “I think John’s performances have been superb for us, he’s been amazing, and it’s great to think that he’s been on that journey all the way through.

“The key now is for him to keep on getting even better and I definitely think there’s even more to come from him,” Wilder added. “In fact, I know there is.

“But he’s been superb for us so far, I don’t think anyone can doubt that. No one could disagree.”

The same goes for O’Connell, who cost United the sum total of £500,000 - payable in two installments - when he left Brentford.

A solid if unspectacular performer at Griffin Park, the centre-half is now a pivotal member of a back three which has kept 10 clean sheets in the PL since August.

Speaking before Christmas, Wilder suggested that after analysing the defender’s key attributes, United’s scouts decided he would flourish in the 3-5-2 system he was plotting but had yet to introduce. Again, it reveals how United look beyond the usual statistics most clubs consider when deciding their list of targets.

“It wasn’t so much a case of what Jack was doing,” Wilder explained. “Even though he was clearly very good. It was more a case of what we thought he could do with us, given how we wanted to go.

“We knew how we wanted to play and it was a little bit different to what they (Brentford) were doing at that time. There’s plenty of ways to approach football and do things. There isn’t a right way. But sometimes one way suits a player more than another. And that’s what you’ve got to think about.”

It is a trick, depending upon how the bleak economic climate caused by the pandemic affects his budget, Wilder plans to reprise again when matches resume and the market reopens for business.

Paying £22m for Berge has prompted suggestions that United were attempting to adopt a different approach to recruitment. But, as they attempt to compete with teams able to spend three times more than the sum it cost to trigger the midfielder’s release from Genk without batting an eyelid, Wilder has argued his presence is in fact a continuation of the strategy which led to their success at Sixfields in April 2017.

“We have to try and find a niche,” he said. “It’s about trying to deliver value for money and staying head of the curve. If he develops as we know he can, then he’s going to be worth a lot more than the amount we paid in the future. Like a lot of the lads here now, he can grow with us.”