Sheffield United manager lays down some ground rules - and explains why he won't apologise - before crucial clash with Everton

The mood on the conference call was initially a little tense. Journalists who had logged in, particularly those who had witnessed his coruscating attack on Thursday’s performance at Leicester City, wondered if Wilder’s mood would still be as bleak as it had been in the east Midlands, when he accused his players of being out-thought and, even more damningly, out-fought by Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Over the course of the next hour or so, Wilder allayed those fears as he smiled and joked his way through a series of questions on subjects including the transfer market, how it has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and of course tomorrow’s visitors to Bramall Lane. But Wilder also made it clear a repeat of last week’s display will not be tolerated. A positive result, he conceded, can not be guaranteed. But a combative attitude is a prerequisite.

“It’s a bit of a bug bear for me,” Wilder said, expressing his frustration that many within the game believe footballers should never be censured in public. “They work for the club and in any other environment, if you don’t do your job properly then you get told about it.

“My mum works for a garden centre and if she doesn’t serve the coffee there properly, then I think there’s a fair chance she’d get told. Players are no different and I’ve done it at other clubs. I’m not making a big thing about it. That’s what others are doing. The lads know, whatever I say, that I’m still their biggest supporter because of everything they have done.”

As predicted at the beginning of the campaign, the penultimate match of the season is of critical importance for United. Only not for the reason, when they gained promotion from the Championship 15 months ago, most commentators expected. Rather than being locked in a battle for survival, Wilder’s squad is pushing for a place in Europe instead. Which explains why, given his understanding of the personalities within it, he was so damning about their most recent outing.

“Knowing the players character, I’m sure there’ll be a reaction,” Wilder said, confirming suspicions he actually chose his words very carefully following the 2-0 loss to City in an attempt to provoke a response. “Overall, our form is good but if I’d have seen coming what happened, then I’d have acted on it. I thought the players were in a really good place and then, from nowhere, we produced that. I’d be very surprised if the players thought it was good enough either. We can’t guarantee the result we want here though, because it’s a top Premier League fixture.”

The visit of Everton will see Wilder pit his wits against another top manager too, with Carlo Ancelotti, the former Italy, Milan and Roma midfielder, taking charge at Goodison Park following United’s 2-0 win there earlier this term.

“His career is incredible isn’t it,” Wilder said of Ancelotti, who has also won trophies with the likes of Chelsea, Paris St Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. “He was an incredible player and he is an incredible manager. When you saw the interaction he had with the players and Chelsea and Real, you can tell how much they thought of him and that he’s a real players’ manager. Carlo is a serial winner and for Everton, a really powerful football club in their own right, to go out and get him sends a strong message that they mean business.”

Despite his recent outburst, Wilder also prides himself on building close relationships with those under his command. Delivering honest assessments of their performances, refusing to sugar coat when things go wrong, is part of that process.

"That, honesty, worked for me when I was a player," he conceded. "I've just been on the phone to one of my old managers (Dave Basset) and he told me exactly how it is. I'm not a copy of him but football is a tough environment and players need to be mentally and physically strong. We want to create mentally tough footballers, because they need to be able to dig out results when things aren't going as they'd like."

"When we came up, we had to go to places like Leeds and dig it out," Wilder continued. "You can't do that if you'te not mentally tough. It's just not possible. So the lads understand what it is like here and how things work. They buy into that because they're also honest with themselves."

Everton make the journey east in indifferent form, having won two, lost two and drawn three of their seven outings since competition resumed following lockdown. United had beaten Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea and drawn with Burnley before losing to City.

“I’m not interested in what has just happened, I work in the present,” Wilder said. “Nothing is ever going to change that and the players know. They will have had discussions amongst themselves and I’m sure they’ll come roaring back because they are a really honest bunch.

"We never look beyond the next game and we know the next game is going to be really tough."

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