Dropping like a stone will scar Wilder

EARLIER this year, Chris Wilder was talked about by Jamie Carragher as a pioneer for bosses of promoted clubs into the Premier League.

Carragher could not have heaped more praise on the Sheffield United chief as one of the best English managers in the game.

That is still true, but this Christmas and New Year period might just be pivotal for his reputation and future.

Yesterday they earned their second point of the season in the 1-1 draw at Brighton, and Wilder’s side face three other bottom-half teams before mid-January.

If the cumulative points from those four fixtures is low, then they could well be facing the worst season in Premier League history.

Wilder (above) is an excellent manager and it was great to see his chairman back him regardless of whether they are relegated, which is starting to look virtually inevitable now.

However, I don’t think it is as simple as that.

I have watched and played for top coaches and it is not to be underestimated what impact disastrous results can have on the whole set-up.

Manager and players get scarred badly in these situations and sometimes it is impossible to recover from them without major change.

The results have been so poor that they lose faith in themselves, each other and everything they have ever worked towards.

I used to hear something similar in cricket, where pundits talked about whether any of the players carried scars from previous humiliating series defeats to Australia. It was openly acknowledged that fresh faces might be needed to move on from the past.

This can apply to players, coaches and managers.

I want Wilder to have the brightest of futures in the game and he can, but he desperately needs to get out of this season with some respectability.

Getting relegated would be a disappointment but not a disaster – you would put your money on Wilder bringing the Blades back up again next season.

But the manner in which the club gets relegated is crucial.

If the results are that bad, then the road back for the players and manager might be very steep.

Billy Davies was the Derby manager that took them into the Premier League for the 2007-08 season in which they managed the lowest points total in Premier League history – just 11.

Davies was not in charge for the whole of that ill-fated season, but after that traumatic Pride Park spell he did not manage a club above Championship level.

He is not the manager Wilder is, but he was definitely heralded as one on the up when Derby were promoted.

So ask yourself whether a top-six club would ever hire Wilder if his Sheffield United side achieved the lowest points in a season in Premier League history.

We all know the answer to that.

I really do wish Wilder and Sheffield United a strong second half of the season regardless of relegation.

They really do need it – for lots of reasons.