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Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has explained one bizarre thing he did on the Sky Sports cameras following his side’s win against Bristol City.
Sheffield United defeated Bristol City as Chris Wilder’s side put one foot in the Championship play-off final.
The game looked as though it was going into the interval all square, but Bristol City’s Rob Dickie was handed a red card after giving away a penalty; a controversial decision that Sheffield United capitalised on.
Wilder’s side managed to control the tempo of the game in the second stanza, which saw them notch another two goals to give them a 3-0 advantage going into the contest at Bramall Lane.
Nonetheless, Sheffield United boss Wilder isn’t keen on getting too ahead of himself, as seen by his actions following the win at Ashton Gate.
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder explains decision to push players away from fans following Bristol City win
Eagle-eyed fans may have spotted Chris Wilder following the win against Bristol City eagerly pushed his players towards the away contingent of Blades supporters at Ashton Gate, before quickly forcing them away immediately.
The decision on the surface looked bizarre by Wilder, but he had a perfectly reasonable explanation, one which highlighted the ‘respect’ that he had for Bristol City.
“I respect the game too much,” Wilder said. “I respect the opponents, their players, the manager, and their football club too much. I wanted to get the players off the pitch and get back to Sheffield. We’ve got to recover, got to reflect on the game, and we’ve got a big game ahead of us on Monday night. We’ve got to do a professional job like we’ve done tonight.
“The job isn’t done. The fans were great all evening. Their fans were really good, gave them an incredible amount of energy for the first 15, 20 minutes. For me, our fans have to do that for our players, 100 percent.
“We need their energy. I think we deserve a full house at Bramall Lane. I know it’s pretty difficult with the prices of tickets. The players deserve, in my opinion, the energy Bristol City supporters gave their team tonight.
“I’ve been in the game far too long to know that even now, when everybody will be thinking it’s job done. It isn’t. The players have got to produce another professional performance and compete.
“They’ve got nothing to lose, and everyone will be writing them off at Bramall Lane. But that’s a dangerous situation for us to be in, and we’ve got to absolutely go full tilt in this game.”
It is clear that Wilder isn’t keen to get ahead of himself, despite such a comprehensive victory that puts them firmly in the frame for the Championship play-off final.
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Whilst a three-goal advantage is certainly healthy for Sheffield United to be going into a tie at Bramall Lane with, Wilder is right not to get ahead of himself.
Sheffield United boss Wilder has ensured that his side go about their business quietly in the Championship play-offs, and get the job done, which they are, admittedly, already halfway to achieving.
There will be an ounce of doubt that Bristol City could come back from a sizeable deficit, as Sheffield Wednesday famously did in the 2022/23 League One play-off semi-final against Peterborough, coming back from 4-0 down; something that Wilder could state to remind his players that the tie hasn’t been won yet.
Of course, Sheffield United have the further advantage of going into the tie at home, but Wilder has done the best thing to show Bristol City ‘respect’ and not give them any ammunition for motivation.