Sheffield United manager makes important pledge ahead of meeting with Manchester United

Despite acknowledging that a lack of consistent selections in key areas of the pitch have contributed to United’s poor results of late, with injuries to some of their most influential players exacerbating the issue, Wilder feels he has no choice but to keep making changes in order to try an arrest a run of form which sees them enter Thursday’s game against Manchester United having lost 11 of their last 12 outings.

With Oli McBurnie in danger of missing the match after damaging a shoulder during Sunday’s defeat by Southampton, Oliver Burke could be set for a recall having been omitted from the side which travelled to St Mary’s, while former Liverpool centre-forward Rhian Brewster will also be hoping to make only his fourth start since leaving Anfield in October.

“There’s reasons behind every decision I make, of course,” Wilder said. “There’s quite a lot of thought that goes into picking a side you know, even though people might not think so.

“We have to take everything into account. And we do take everything into account, absolutely everything. We’ll always do what we think is right and what gives us the best possible chance of achieving the right outcome.”

With United scheduled to provide an update on McBurnie’s condition later today, Wilder is contemplating yet another enforced switch if the Scotland international joins Jack O’Connell and Kean Bryan on the treatment table. Midfielder John Fleck has yet to recapture his best form since recovering from a back problem while Enda Stevens and Ethan Ampadu were thrust straight back into action at St Mary’s, despite only recently passing fitness tests.

Although losing O’Connell has been a particular blow, Wilder feels compelled to keep reshuffling his options after identifying a lack of confidence as the biggest hurdle United must overcome after sliding to the foot of the table.

“This has been the most difficult period of my career,” Wilder said. “We are always searching, because we want to get the decisions right.”

An important message: To help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to from the football team at The Star, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details at https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions/sports. Your support is much appreciated.