Chris Wilder on managing Sheffield United: balancing passion and profession | OneFootball

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has had his work cut out this summer as he tackles a major rebuild for the Blades for the second time.

The 56-year-old absolutely nailed his first transfer window with the club back in the summer of 2016, eventually leading United to the League One title. But there is a lot more riding on it this time; the overall feeling around the future of the club is one of unstableness. The Blades really need to have a perfect summer window, and start to the season, if they want to get rid of that notion.

Wilder has managed over 250 games for his boyhood club Sheffield United, and in an interview with BBC Radio Sheffield he opened up about what it’s like managing the football club you grew up supporting.

Sheffield United’s English manager Chris Wilder (R) and Sheffield United’s English assistant manager Alan Knill are seen following the English Premier League football match between Sheffield United and Tottenham Hotspur at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, northern England on May 19, 2024. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP)

Chris Wilder on being Sheffield United manager as well as a fan

“Yeah I think it’s all rolled in together. You’ve got to be good at your job. First and foremost, I don’t think that the owner would have brought me back if he didn’t think I could help in any way. And I think my CV has been one that’s had the majority of successes in it. I think you sometimes have to feel a little bit of pain through that. And that’s part and parcel of the journey, you know. So to manage in the arena’s that we have done, you feel you’ve got to, you’ve got to be competent at your job in every aspect.

“But how do I want my teams to play? I want my teams to play in a way that I would like to watch as a supporter, I would want my club to act in a way that I would want it to act as a supporter and as a fan. So all those things rolled into one. Yeah, I think at times you have to sort of, you know, sort of detach yourself a little bit. But we all want the same thing. We want our team to run around. We want our team to compete, or our team to give everything and leave everything out there. And we want that feeling of when you play well and when you win games of football, because of the effect that that has on you individually and what it has around you, and what it has on your family, and what it has on your friends, and what it has on your club that you represent. It is amazing and we’ve seen that. We saw that for a number of years, and the change [in mood], I knew about it before I came in, and how negative it was. So getting back to that and how it affects everybody, how it affects your city as well, even though one half of it will not want that to happen, is crucial as well, and something that we’re all desperately wanting to achieve.”