Football’s revolving door as out goes Wilder and Tindall fills in
SHEFFIELD UNITED last night confirmed Chris Wilder had left Bramall Lane by mutual consent with Jason Tindall set to form an interim management team alongside Paul Heckingbottom.
Tindall, out of work since being fired by Bournemouth six weeks ago, is in talks with Bramall Lane chiefs to work alongside Heckingbottom until the end of the season.
Under-23s boss Heckingbottom, the former Leeds, Hibernian and Barnsley manager, is expected to take charge of today’s trip to Leicester.
Lincoln’s Michael Appleton and Tindall’s former boss at Bournemouth, Eddie Howe, are other names in the frame to replace Wilder permanently.
Wilder’s exit was finally announced last night, 36 hours after speculation that his five-year reign at Bramall Lane had come to an end.
In a statement released by the club last night, he said: ‘Being manager of Sheffield United has been a special journey and one
I’ll never forget. I was delighted to be given the opportunity in 2016 and have been delighted with the success which we have achieved, including two promotions and a highest ever Premier League finish.’
Wilder had overseen an astonishing transformation of the Blades since replacing Nigel Adkins, guiding them to the League One title in his first season.
They were promoted from the Championship two years later and last season, despite being widely tipped to go straight back down, guided the Yorkshire club to a magnificent ninth place.
United striker Oli McBurnie wrote on Twitter: ‘Today is a sad day for everyone at this great football club. Thank you for everything you did for me and my family, gaffer, I will never forget it. We shared some fantastic times on and off the pitch together. Sorry we let you down in the end.’ Wilder has left, however, with the club tailed off at the foot of the Premier League amid tensions with the Bramall Lane hierarchy making his position seemingly untenable.
Rows over recruitment, a lack of backing in the January transfer window and differences of opinion in the long-term vision for the club with owner Prince Abdullah made it a matter of when not if a man, who according to his former keeper Dean Henderson was worthy of a statue outside the ground, would leave.
Interest in Wilder from Celtic complicated the £7million goodbye talks, with United keen on compensation should he walk straight into work elsewhere.
Although Heckingbottom will be in the dugout for this evening’s visit to the King Power Stadium, he is set to be joined by another young coach with EFL experience in Tindall, in preparation for inevitable relegation.
Tindall is well known to United’s chief executive Stephen Bettis and favourite for the role.