Why Chris Wilder will never gamble with Sheffield United's financial future

Times are undoubtedly better now. Wilder is now a Premier League manager with his beloved Sheffield United - but has not forgotten those experiences from earlier in his career.

That is one of the reasons the Blades boss has never been willing to gamble with United's financial future. He has seen close-hand the realities of when the bubble bursts, and it is more often than not the people behind the scenes who suffer.

Recent figures from the Championship showed a frightening number of clubs spending more than their turnover in wages, in an attempt to reach the promised land of the Premier League.

"The Championship is quite the mess in terms of overspend and chasing glory, coming up short and paying for that in years to come," Wilder said.

"We're all custodians of our football clubs and we got out of League One and into the Premier League based on other things than getting the chequebook out and putting the club in difficulty for years to come.

"Especially with this [United] being my football club as well. I've got a huge responsibility to make sure it's done the correct way. And we will do that."

Wilder works closely with United's chief executive, Stephen Bettis, on player recruitment and recently smashed the club's transfer record to pay Genk £22m for the Norwegian international, Sander Berge.

"First and foremost, I'm a huge believer in the financial aspect of this club," Wilder added.

"I've been in situations at other clubs, and it's really important for me as a manager to keep my finger on the pulse with what happens from a financial point of view.

"We're in a different league to the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, but we have invested - using money that we have earned through achieving Premier League status.

"I think it's important to look at this situation closely... we have to invest sensibly, to make sure it doesn't affect the long-term future of this football club."

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.