MEGA BITE
Forget laptops, Wilder’s lapping up Championship
DAVE BASSETT claims ‘old-school’ Chris Wilder’s success at Sheffield United is proof that “football ain’t done on a computer”.
Bassett has little time for the new breed of coaches armed with their laptops and statistics, who insist performances are more important than results. Wilder has made the Blades promotion contenders, despite operating on the seventh-lowest Championship budget, and Bassett (left) says he understands football is about winning.
The former United boss said: “Chris understands you’ve got to win football matches.
“This ‘we play the right way’ when you’re not winning is not his thing.
“He has his ideas on how he wants to play and he’s flexible. He’s nobody’s fool. He’s not full of b ****** t. He doesn’t try and kid you.
“Chris is a realist. He understands that football ain’t done on a computer.
“He’s not trying to promote himself and say he’s the new wonder coach who plays the right way. He plays in a way that wins football matches rather than one of those coaches who talks a good game, but doesn’t win.”
Bassett claims Wilder probably moaned about him as a player because he did not always pick him, but maintains he was always professional.
And Bassett is not surprised by the former fullback’s success, believing he can emulate his own 1990 triumph in leading United back to the top flight.
“Chris had quite a hard time with me because although he was technically good, he wasn’t the quickest, so he was in and out of the team,” he said.
“He probably gave me some verbals behind my back, probably calling me a ‘Cockney summat!’
“But if he moaned, he never did to me.
“I pitched him as Sheffield United manager a couple of years before he got it, before they appointed Nigel Adkins and Nigel Clough. He deserves it. He’s done well.
“I don’t think there’s an outstanding team in the division, but I think United have a great chance of going up. They’re definites for the play-offs.”