Sheffield United have a new long-term leader in their ranks as Chris Wilder reveals Sydie Peck plan
Sydie Peck's stunning hat-trick at Preston North End was another reminder of his importance to Sheffield United, with Chris Wilder backing the midfielder to captain the club again one day as part of his plans for a longer-term rebuild.
When Chris Wilder talks about his plans for his latest ongoing rebuild at Sheffield United, you get the sense that players like Sydie Peck are an absolute key part of it.
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The former Arsenal man’s progress has been no secret for a while now, but his 19-minute hat-trick at Preston North End last night will not have gone unnoticed.
There were sniffs of interest in him in the summer and word of a bid as well, which United turned down. And understandably so; he is one of their prized assets, an England U21 international and surely destined to play in the Premier League again at some stage.
United and Wilder will hope that it is at Bramall Lane. The turnover of players here has been too much for too long, as shown by the fact that Peck was one of United’s longest-serving players on the teamsheet at Deepdale. He signed in 2021.
Wilder is desperate for more continuity, hoping for a return to the days of players making hundreds of appearances for the Blades rather than United continually chasing their tails in the transfer market.
And Peck’s display at Deepdale showed exactly how important he could be to that. He has worn the armband before for United but for Wilder, a man who has this club coarsing through his veins, to describe him as a future Blades skipper speaks volumes.
“He'll one day hopefully captain this football club,” the manager said. “It was too early, in my opinion, when he was doing it before I came back, I needed to take that responsibility off of him and make sure he got his head down and be a good footballer.
“And he was a good footballer tonight. Off the pitch, his leadership skills in training ... he wants to win and you can see that. It was there in abundance and I'm all over that.
“First and foremost, you've got to win the game of football, but on the emotion side of it, he plays his football emotionally as well as intelligently. It's a good night for him. A great night for him.”
Peck is one of a number of players the Blades are hoping to tie down to new deals, having last committed his future to Bramall Lane until at least 2028.
“I've got to be given the opportunity to build something,” Wilder added. “Because I look at other clubs and they have been given the opportunity, and have that opportunity to build.
“I understand that we've got to win games, I totally understand that. It's a result-based, as everybody keeps telling me. A result-based business. But we need to understand as well and show a tiny smidgen of patience now and again.
“I think I've done that with the players and I think you've seen the benefits of that now. We're a quarter of the way through the season. There’s still a load of football to be played and I think there's more growth.
“I think the ceiling for this group is a decent height. We're going to have a setback now and then. Moments where we get punished and hurt. And we're going to have moments where we punish and hurt other teams.
“But I'm enjoying working with the players and, as I said, just trying to keep working with them and building and moving it forward. We've got good momentum.
“For all those stats lovers, we've nudged all our stats up, which is good for everybody. But, as you can imagine from me, the most important thing is winning three points for Sheffield United.”