Chris Wilder's 'all in' Gustavo Hamer verdict is breeding Sheffield United play-off confidence
Sheffield United's Player of the Season is gearing up for a massive few weeks in the Championship play-off battle.
Chris Wilder has heaped praise on Gustavo Hamer for finding those match-winning moments that ‘divide the average from the best’ - with confidence he can do it all again for the play-offs.
Hamer has been Sheffield United’s standout player for the second consecutive campaign since joining From Coventry City in 2023, with nine goals and seven assists enough to see him crowned Championship Player of the Season last weekend. Other second-tier stars have improved on those numbers but few could say they have matched the Dutchman’s ability to almost single-handedly carry a team to victory.
For Wilder, keeping top performers like Hamer, Anel Ahmedhodzic and Vini Souza was paramount to building a promotion-chasing squad and despite a £13million Leeds United bid for the former, Bramall Lane kept its talisman. And in a season of significant change among the squad, with so many young additions, that point of reference has proven invaluable.
“When Gus speaks, everybody listens,” Wilder said of his midfielder at The Star Football Awards, where he won Manager of the Season. “And rightly so, there should have been interest in him in the summer, because of how outstanding he was in an incredibly disappointing campaign for us. He cleaned up in the Player of the Year awards, so there was always going to be interest in him.
“I'm okay with stuff like that, because he's a good player, and I would not expect anything different off the back of that. But as soon as we talk and we go ‘listen, we need to, from a club point of view, restore value to our big players’, and I think we've done that in terms of Anel, Vini, and most importantly, Gus, who was a big player, a big signing for us in the Premier League. But you've got to be all in.
Confidence Gus Hamer can recreate Sheffield United heroics in play-offs
“So, as soon as I had that conversation with Gus - there was obvious interest from clubs, a little bit of nonsense, noise and nonsense at times - but as soon as he was all in, and we talked about that, he's given everything for me and the football club right the way through. Not just from a cultural point of view, but when you need those big moments, and you need people, players to produce, the bit of special that divides the average from the best, he's found those moments. And hopefully everything goes well in the next three or four weeks.”
Hamer was unfortunately not able to drag his side through a difficult April, with United losing four from five to fall out of the automatic promotion picture as Leeds and Burnley put their foot on the gas. The Blades were top of the Championship after beating Coventry City just one month ago but dropped to third in the blink of an eye and are now consigned to the play-offs.
That prospect will send shivers down the spines of many Unitedites, given eight previous attempts have all ended in heartbreak, whether it be in the semi-finals or at Wembley. But Wilder pointed towards Newcastle United ending their 70-year domestic trophy drought earlier this year and was keen to stress his current squad does not carry the baggage of previous failures.
“We're incredibly positive about the outcome, even though there will be a little bit of negativity because of the past play-off record,” the Blades boss insisted. “It's irrelevant, really, because Gus wasn't here, I wasn't here. It was only from a supporter's point of view. I get that. But we're here to make new memories, build new legacies. Gus will certainly do that, I'm sure, in the next three or four weeks with his performances and contributions, hopefully which is still going to be an incredibly successful season for us.”
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