Wilder to look back on reign of King Kev
Chris Wilder will cast his mind back to the heady days of the Kevin Keegan era when he brings Sheffield United to St James’ Park today.
The ground will be empty for the visit of the Blades but, for manager Wilder, the memories will be of Alan Shearer and David Ginola as conveyed to him by close friend and former Tyneside favourite, John Beresford.
He said: “Everybody in football loves that from when Kevin Keegan was manager, and the unbelievable success that he had there, how he galvanised that football club and showed the world what a brilliant football club it is.
“I’ve got a close friend who played there for a number of years, John Beresford.
“Every time we meet up, we always talk about his time there, off the pitch how it was, the passion that they showed towards the players, the demands they put on the players and him playing in that team with the likes of Ginola and Shearer.
“The list is endless, and what a brilliant time it was for them. I’m sure they’re desperate for success, as we are. We’ve been starved of it – they’ve been starved of it at a different level.”
The Blades will head for the northeast smarting from Wednesday night’s perceived injustice at Aston Villa, where they were controversially denied victory, and the 2-0 home defeat they suffered at the hands of Steve Bruce’s men at Bramall Lane in December.
Asked if that had been the most frustrating game of the season to date, Wilder said: “Yes, it was. They did a job on us.
“They came and they got the result that they wanted as we got the result that we wanted at Brighton and at Norwich and games like that.
“It was a different type of game from our point of view. We dominated possession, but ultimately what decided the game was they took their chances.”
Steve Bruce, meanwhile, has told his players to focus on the task of securing the club’s Premier League status.
The Magpies had collected 35 points by the time the season drew to a temporary close in March and, with nine games remaining, still have work to do to ease their way over the line.
Bruce said: “Look, we’ve still got a lot to do, in my opinion. We’ve got to secure our Premier League status.
“That has been my objective since I walked through the door. That’s absolutely paramount for a club of our size.
“We’ve got ourselves in a decent position, that’s all it is.
“We’ve got nine to play, we’ve got five out of the bottom six to play, so it’s all to play for, as they say.”