Sheffield United’s secret motivational weapon that helped inspire derby victory over Wednesday as Chris Wilder opens up on emotions

Manager Chris Wilder commissioned a series of messages from Sheffield United legends, celebrity fans and supporters to inspire his players to Steel City derby success over Wednesday yesterday afternoon. The Blades secured city bragging rights again with a 1-0 victory at a rocking Bramall Lane, thanks to Tyrese Campbell’s second-half strike.

Although the long-awaited clash failed to spark off as many had expected it was a hard-fought victory for the Blades, who relied on their industry as much as their invention to secure their 10th win of the season and go joint top of the Championship table going into the international break. Campbell was the goalscoring hero but the likes of Vini Souza, Harry Souttar and half-time sub Sydie Peck were all at their combative best to help keep the Owls at bay.

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And to help inspire his players pre-match, United’s staff compiled a series of messages from supporters and former United players who knew exactly what this game meant. They included Sheffield-born Blades fans Billy Sharp, Carl Bradshaw and Dane Whitehouse, derby-day heroes of yesteryear including Carl Asaba, John Fleck and Mark Duffy, and celebrity supporters including golfer Matt Fitzpatrick, England cricket legend Joe Root and and Paul Heaton, the former Beautiful South and Housemartins frontman.

“You can’t get away from the emotion of it all,” Wilder, who raced down the touchline in celebration after the full-time whistle gave him his first victory over Wednesday at Bramall Lane, said afterwards. “Whether it’s my family, my friends, close pals that I used to go to school with, play football with, stand on the Kop with.

“You live for days like today. I’m so fortunate I have the opportunity of managing this incredible football club that is loved by us all. It was a tight game decided by a bit of quality. I’d have loved for us to play the kind of football we’ve played over the last 14 games, but the biggest thing is that we got the right result. Players stuck everything on the line when they went long and direct late on, which is not a criticism – we’d have done the same.”