MADINE RED WILL PRIVATELY DRIVE CHRIS SO WILD

CHRIS Wilder went easy on Gary Madine after the big striker was shown a straight red card in Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over Brentford.

“Gaz is devastated,” said the Sheffield United boss after Madine had flattened Bees defender Ezri Konsa for no apparent reason. “But I think it was the correct decision.”

Privately, however, Wilder will be fuming. The 51-year-old has spoken frequently of the newfound squad depth that has anchored the Blades’ surprise push for the Premier League.

“You look on the pitch and we’ve got Billy Sharp, David McGoldrick and Mark Duffy,” he said recently. “Then you look on the bench and we’ve got Gaz, Kieran Dowell and Scott Hogan.”

Well, not anymore. Banned for yesterday’s crunch showdown at Leeds United, Madine will spend another two games in the stand.

In terms of goals, that is no great loss. Madine has scored just two in ten since arriving on loan from Cardiff in January. He is, however, an effective target man whose strength and hold up play are handy when you need to beat a press, chase a game or simply give defenders a breather.

Having allowed Leon Clarke to join Wigan on loan, United have now been robbed of that option for a third of the run-in.

Will that prove costly? Hopefully not. Nevertheless, the incident will do little to build trust between Blades fans and a man who represented their rivals 113 times. Nor, for that matter, strengthen Wilder’s conviction to sign Madine permanently in July.