We have genuine connection with fans – Wilder
MANAGER Chris Wilder believes Sheffield United’s attempt to reach the Premier League is being fuelled by a bucking of the modern-day trend for there to be a disconnection in relations between players and supporters.
The Blades can return to the top of the Championship tonight by beating Fulham at Bramall Lane.
If United are to reach the summit for a third time in as many weeks, it will have to be achieved without Paul Coutts following the midfielder’s season-ending broken leg suffered in last Friday’s victory at Burton Albion.
The loss of Coutts, one of the driving forces behind the unexpected push for promotion this term, and the subsequent lowkey celebrations at the end of the win over Nigel Clough’s men despite United reclaiming top spot are seen by Wilder as proof of the “genuine connection” that now exists between his players and the club’s fans.
“Not a lot of football supporters like players any more,” said Wilder to The Yorkshire Post. “There is not that connection there once was. I go to games all the time and it is ‘effin this’ and ‘effin that’ (in the stands), fans saying, ‘He’s not doing this and he’s not doing that’.
“I get it because I am a football supporter myself. Some players don’t give a monkey’s about the supporters, some supporters don’t give a monkey’s about players. That is how it can be at some clubs today.
“But I think there is a genuine connection here because of the players, their attitude and how they go about things. If they give 100 per cent effort, they will always get 100 per cent backing. You can’t kid people in this part of the world.
“If Paul Coutts wasn’t a popular boy and the players weren’t as tight with the supporters as they are, I don’t think the supporters would have given two monkey’s (about the injury).
“We would have been hearing things like, ‘Well, it’s part and parcel of the game – he earns a lot, he’ll get over it and we will get someone else in his position’.
“Instead, there was genuine concern about the future of the player. We saw that in the subdued celebrations after we had gone top of the league. Everyone’s thoughts were regarding Paul. For me as manager, that was a great feeling. You can’t buy that sort of thing.
“Maybe it didn’t used to happen here, but it does now and I don’t see the same at a lot of football clubs, where there can be a real disconnection between players, football club and supporters.”
Wilder’s pleasure at the strong bond that exists on and off the field is understandable. He had something similar at previous clubs, though usually this was down to adversity bringing everyone together.
His Northampton Town side, for instance, romped to the League Two title in 2015-16 despite the wages going unpaid for several weeks.
“I didn’t enjoy being at petrol stations and my card being declined because I hadn’t been paid,” he recalls, “but it did bring a bond. This, though, is different and hasn’t just happened because you win a few games of football. There is a lot more to this changing room than that.
“If you speak to the players, I would be very surprised if any of them said they had played in a better atmosphere. They might have done, I don’t know. But I bet if they have, it will be a close run thing.”
Coutts will be hard to replace, the Scot having started all but one of United’s 17 league games. Along with Mark Duffy and John Fleck, the 29-year-old has helped the Blades dominate the centre of midfield and provide the platform for many of the club’s dozen victories this term.
Wilder has several options, including switching Chris Basham into midfield or handing a start to either John Lundstram or Samir Carruthers.
Regardless of who gets the nod, the 50-year-old is calling on the Lane faithful to remain fully behind his team.
“This should be, for me, one of the best atmospheres of the season in terms of the supporters pushing the team on,” he added. “Whether it is Lunny, Bash or Sammy, they need to feel the warmth of the supporters. It is big that they get that backing and the freedom to go and play.
“They are good players. They are relatively new to Championship football – this is not an expensively assembled squad, we don’t have a £7m player ready to come in. But we think these players have got something. What we don’t need is comparisons. Just the recognition that these are genuine, decent players.
“In many ways this is a massive game for us in a psychological aspect, (ensuring) that we recover from what happened the other night.”
Not a lot of football supporters like players any more. Chris Wilder, on what he sees as a changing relationship between players and fans.