Hard work and intelligence serving rivals well
THEIR BUDGETS are miles apart but as Premier League managers, Chris Wilder and Nuno Espirito Santo share a lot of principles.
The one-time Championship rivals meet at Bramall Lane tomorrow in a game which will go some way to defining Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ European ambitions.
Last season newly-promoted Wolves finished seventh in the Premier League with a tight squad and a clear three-at-theback system refined in the Football League. Sound familiar?
“I like watching them, they have some great players but they put their foot in and work hard too,” says Wilder of Wolves.
“Nuno’s passionate. When he went up against Neil Warnock (in the latter’s Cardiff City days) it was brilliant. He’s cool as a cucumber, suave and nice and doesn’t get involved in debate on other stuff but he enjoys it when they score and wants to win.
“I have a lot of respect for him, he’ll always have a drink after the match. He doesn’t moan as much as I do about decisions, he’s not an edgy northerner.
“The players they have are a tight-knit group, not over-bloated with numbers. They have goals at the top of the pitch and pace and power, defenders who want to defend and they’re a team.
“They’re excellently led by the skipper (Conor Coady), someone I tried to bring to the Lane. When Nuno arrived we were hoping they’d sign a Portuguese centrehalf but they stuck with the Liverpool boy. They’re hard-working with a great desire, but also have that ability.”
Hard-working is also a Sheffield United characteristic, but teams do not reach the Premier League’s upper echelons on that alone. There is considerable footballing intelligence to the Blades too.
“It’s all well and good me and the staff having these ideas, the boys have got to carry it out in the heat of the moment,” says Wilder. “There’s always got to be a structure and individual freeness to create in the final third, but they’ve got to be adaptable to take on board what we’re asking and they take responsibility.”
Centre-back Jack O’Connell made his post-lockdown return as a 55th-minute substitute at Burnley and Wilder must consider whether he is ready to start, or if any other freshness can help a side he described as “leggy” in their sixth game in 18 days.