Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MY BLADE STUNNER
Wilder hints he could be off if relegation sparks a fire sale of star players by club owner
CHRIS WILDER has cast doubt on his Sheffield United future by saying he does not know if he will still be manager next season.
Wilder knows the Blades are almost certain to be relegated because they are stranded a distant 15 points from safety following Sunday’s home loss to Liverpool (below).
But while owner Prince Abdullah (above) has vowed to keep Wilder in charge if they do go down, the coach himself has hinted at tensions over their differing visions of the club’s future.
When asked yesterday if he would still be in charge next season, Wilder (right) said: “I don’t know. We always plan short, medium and long term, but that plan is determined by other people, not me.
“I know which way I want to take the football club. I’ve not had those conversations.
“I think they should be had, but they’re not happening.”
Wilder, who led United from mid-table in League One to ninth in the Premier League in his first three years in charge, wants to keep the nucleus of his squad and rebuild around their younger players.
He also wants the board to invest in the club’s infrastructure. Work to modernise their outdated training facilities has been hampered by the coronavirus outbreak.
He did not outline
Prince
Abdullah’s view, but the Saudi owner may want to cash in on their best players, such as John
Egan and
Sander Berge, to help balance the books following relegation. Wilder, whose side face Aston Villa this evening, does not feel this is necessary because they have been careful with their spending on transfers and wages.
When pressed if he would like to remain, Wilder said: “Yep, definitely – if we stick to the plan.
“The plan as always is to leave a legacy.
“To change things off the pitch, which need changing, stick with the players we have invested in, add a couple and try to bounce back.”
BY GIDEON BROOKS FOR tips on how to floor his Premier League rivals, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is leaning on his own Big Daddy – wrestler father, Oivind.
The Manchester United boss admits he regularly turns to his 76-year-old dad for chats on tactics.
And the six-time Grecoroman wrestling Norwegian national champion has urged his son to stick with the ‘ropea-dope’ before hitting sides on the counter.
“There are many ways of creating the space you want and sometimes I do have discussions, especially with my dad,” said Solskjaer.
“He likes to say, ‘Why don’t you just draw them on to you and let them come and press?’
“In some games to soak up the pressure and to give away the ball, sometimes that creates the space.”
Solskjaer will be trying to tie Roy Hodgson in knots and floor Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park tonight with a view to keeping a grip on second place in the table.
And he is looking for a spark from his side after the Reds (Edinson Cavani in training, above) have taken just 10 points from their last 21.
United may be just keeping their noses in front of the chasing pack, but have been left in Manchester City’s wake at the top.
Asked whether he had given up hope of catching Pep Guardiola’s side, Solskjaer insisted United have to keep believing, citing the example of racing driver Sir Jackie Stewart.
Stewart posted his first win at Monza in 1965, taking advantage of leader Jim Clark’s mechanical failure 12 laps from the finish and the lastbend mistake of team-mate Graham
Hill. “We have to go all the way. Don’t think about City, don’t think about the points tally,” he added. “You’ve got to go every single game, step-by-step.
“It’s like Jackie Stewart’s first win in Formula One. You never know what’s going to happen in life and definitely not in football and sports.
“Do our job and don’t have any regrets when the season is over – just pick up as many points as we can, play as much as we can and improve as much as we can.”
Solskjaer remains without injured midfielder Donny van de Beek, who has a muscle injury. But Paul Pogba is inching back towards resuming training following his thigh injury.
The France star is expected to be available before the international break at the back end of the month.