Why Sheffield United took their time before bringing in 'strong character' Slavisa Jokanovic as new boss

Wilder left the club in March under a cloud after a difference of opinion between the manager and the club’s ownership, almost five years after a journey began in League One that would take the Blades into the Premier League after a 12 year hiatus.

The hole was initially filled by promoting Paul Heckingbottom from the Under 23s who was given the opportunity to stake his claim for the top job himself.

As time went on it look increasingly unlikely that the former Barnsley, Leeds and Hibernian manager would be given the role on a full-time basis.

"Paul taking charge for the remainder of the season was always our first choice - to give us time to recruit the right man but also to give Paul the opportunity to see how he got on," said Bettis.

And the emphasis at one point switched to Belgium where German coach Alexander Blessin had impressed at Oostende.

It would become apparent that the necessary work permit Blessin needed would not be forthcoming and eventually, as reported by The Star, United made their move on former Fulham and Watford boss Jokanovic who had been working in Qatar with Al-​Gharafa.

Finally, it was announced that towards the end of last month, Jokanovic was the man tasked with the challenge of taking the Blades back to the Premier League following their relegation last season and Bettis has explained why the process, from the outside at least, seemingly dragged out, with a three month gap between Wilder’s departure and the new boss’ announcement.

"At times, I think the supporters were wondering, 'What are they doing? Why aren't they making an announcement?' but in the background, we were all working hard," Bettis told Sky Sports.

"The impact that Chris had, they're big shoes to fill, there's no doubt about that. We didn't want to make a rushed decision.

"The key thing for us was to get someone in straight after the season finished so that we could get preparing for next season, so that the new manager had time to work with the players and be involved in recruitment to ensure we're hitting the ground running.

"It took time but I think we've shown our intent, our ambition to come straight back up.”

So why was Jokanovic the man finally chosen by Bettis and the club’s owner Prince Abdullah?

"You need a strong character after Chris,” the chief executive added. “Slav's definitely that and I think he'll show it when he gets here and starts working with the players.

"His track record with Fulham and Watford shows he can get clubs out of the Championship, which is absolutely our desire for next season, he's very confident in his own abilities, and when you really start getting into the detail of his philosophy; the way he plays, the way he wants to incorporate young players, that was a big plus for us."