Chris Basham gives honest opinion on Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United return with promotion verdict

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Chris Wilder has completed his Bramall Lane homecoming, and one of his former Sheffield United stars has offered his thoughts on the move.

Chris Wilder has rejoined Sheffield United as manager, less than three months after he was sacked by the Bramall Lane hierarchy, COH Sports.

Following the Blades’ Championship play-off final defeat to Sunderland, Wilder left the Blades and Ruben Selles was appointed as his replacement.

In a bizarre turn of events, Sheffield United sacked Selles and appointed the man that the Spaniard replaced earlier this summer as his successor.

Sheffield United fans wanted Wilder back, and they got their wish. Now, Sheffield United legend Chris Basham has offered his verdict on his homecoming.

• READ MORE: How Chris Wilder’s last Sheffield United line-up compares to Ruben Selles’ final starting XI

Chris Basham’s verdict on Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United return

If ever there was a man to trust for an opinion on Sheffield United, it is former Blades stalwart Basham.

The veteran central defender featured 394 times for the Blades in a ten-year stint between 2014 and 2024 amid the club’s rise from League One to the top flight.

With many of those games coming under Wilder’s stewardship, Basham knows exactly what the boyhood Blades fan will bring back to Bramall Lane, and he has heaped praise on his former boss.

When asked what makes Chris Wilder such an effective boss for the Blades, Basham told BBC Sport: “He’s hands-on.

“I think he tells it how it is. I think he’s truthful, and I think that’s what a lot of the lads need at the moment.

“I think they need somebody to be truthful. I’m not having a go at them, but they haven’t been individually nowhere near as what they were at last season.

“So there’s a lot of character building to happen, which he’s fantastically good at. There’s a lot of home truths, which he’s brilliant at, and there’s also a togetherness that he builds.

“That’s why you see you get a team morale, you get a united team, you get somebody that’s part of the fans as well as part of the club.

“He wears that on his sleeve, and he brings that (there’s) nothing better than a club that he supports.”

With Wilder’s presence and personality being the exact antidote that the rock-bottom Blades need right now, the question on some of the more optimistic Sheffield United fans’ lips will be whether promotion genuinely is in the crosshairs or already out of sight.

The boyhood Blades fan already has two promotions on his CV, and Basham has backed him for a third despite Sheffield United sitting on zero points after five games.

• READ MORE: Chris Wilder may already have his first signing as Sheffield United manager lined up

Chris Basham believes Chris Wilder can get Sheffield United promoted

To surpass last season’s achievements, Wilder would need to achieve Championship history and better feats set by Sunderland and Nottingham Forest.

The Black Cats (in 2006/07) and Forest (2021/22) are the two sides that have lost four of their first five games of a season and still gone on to earn promotion to the Premier League.

However, no Championship team has lost their first five league games and still been promoted at the end of the season, but Basham believes Wilder’s Blades can be the first.

When asked if Wilder can still win promotion, Basham added: “Yeah, personally, I think he’ll be wanting to go in there, and that’ll be his target. I don’t think his target is anything but that.

“I think he’ll definitely be pushing for play-offs. He’ll be hoping that he’s got a great group of players there.

“On paper, they look fantastic, and I think that’ll be something that he’ll be hoping that he gets to grips with, first and foremost, straight away.

“Nothing better than Charlton (Athletic) at home at Bramall Lane and getting the players bouncing again, because there has been that atmosphere, that vulnerability of what’s going to happen today, whereas I think the fans and myself, we all know what’s going to happen when Chris Wilder’s in charge.”

Sheffield United host newly promoted Charlton Athletic on Saturday afternoon for Wilder’s Bramall Lane return, and Nathan Jones’ side offer the Blades a real chance to notch their first victory of the season.