Sheffield United star's 'trust' in Chris Wilder reaping rewards as Blades stand one step from Premier League
Sheffield United’s Callum O’Hare was one of the first players through the door in a tricky summer for the Blades
Back in July, anyone who arrived at Sheffield United was taking something of a leap of faith.
There had been quite a clear-out at Bramall Lane, almost as soon as the final whistle blew against Tottenham to signal the end of their turgid campaign in the top flight. However, when it came to refilling the squad, that was taking a little longer than anyone would have liked, not least Chris Wilder.
It also meant that some of the earlier arrivals were having to be incredibly trusting. With little evidence to show for it at that point, players had to believe that when Wilder told them he was rebuilding for an immediate return to the Premier League, then it was going to happen.
It would be a somewhat frustrating summer in terms of the time it took deals to get over the line but eventually they did and for players like Callum O’Hare, who had been surrounded by academy starlets when he was first revealed as a Sheffield United player, that leap of faith has turned into one step from the top.
After scoring in his second appearance in a Blades shirt, in the pre-season win over Harrogate, O’Hare told The Star, “hopefully there'll be more bodies through the door and we just have to gel quickly and get straight back on it.”
With what would come to pass, it was almost prophetic.
“[Wilder] rang me and he told me what the plan was and I trusted him,” reflected O’Hare this week, ahead of the Blades’ clash with Sunderland in the Play-Off Final at Wembley. “I knew that why wouldn't people want to come and play for this club? It's an obvious one, you'd want to come and play.
“I knew that people would be coming in. It took a bit longer than everyone thought, which is fine. And by the time the season actually started, not having a young team to start with, but week-by-week we started getting stronger and stronger. And I think our season's just gone up.”
O’Hare would go on to be an almost ever-present in the United side before a change in system towards the end of the campaign and into the play-offs meant that he had to have an impact off the bench. He did just that, with a goal in each of the semi-final legs against Bristol City.
Callum O’Hare’s positive outlook in the face of setbacks
Losing his place in the team is far from the worst setback that O’Hare has had to deal with in his career. He was released by boyhood club Aston Villa having been there from the age of seven; he picked up an ACL injury which prevented him from taking part in a Play-Off Final with Coventry and then suffered at the cruel hands of VAR which denied the Sky Blues a win over Manchester United and a place in the FA Cup Final.
Maintaining a positive outlook clearly helps him overcome such career hurdles.
“Yeah, 100 per cent. I'm a positive person. I think you have to be,” he said. “There's no point dwelling on the negatives and stuff in the past that's happened that you can't control anymore. The past is the past. I got over my injury, had a good season and came here and we got a chance to get into the Premier League. Why wouldn't I be positive? Like I said before, we want to go out there and get there and cement our place there. That's what we're looking to do. I think anyone would be positive having that chance to do that.”
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