Chris Wilder rubs salt in the wound with ruthless Sheffield Wednesday assessment after Steel City derby win

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The red half of Sheffield has woken up the far happier this morning after Chris Wilder secured a vital Steel City derby win, and he’s clearly very pleased with himself.

Sheffield United travelled across the city to Hillsborough to take on local rivals Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday afternoon and came away with all three points and bragging rights for the season.

It was a record-breaking win for the Blades, who extended their winning away run, did the double over Wednesday for the first time since 2005/06, and went one step closer to automatic promotion.

With results elsewhere in the Championship this weekend, United are now level on points with Leeds United at the top of the table after the Whites could only muster a draw with QPR.

But, Chris Wilder is clearly taking some time to savour the satisfying win over Sheffield Wednesday, and he’s had plenty to say about his opponents.

• READ MORE: Billy Sharp says one Sheffield Wednesday ace should be ‘disappointed’ in himself after Steel City derby moment

Chris Wilder just ended Sheffield Wednesday’s season

Speaking to The Star after the game, Wilder reflected on what the win means for his own team, as well as condemning Wednesday’s season as being dead in the water now.

Wilder said: “It’s a great time to be a Sheffield United fan. That was the talk I put to the players today: You can be part of that journey. We’re 31 points clear of the opposition. We haven’t done it by just bashing it up to Callum O’Hare and Rhian Brewster.

“We’re here to win and we’ve won another tight Sheffield derby. It hasn’t been luck, it hasn’t been fortune. We win games of football. We’re on 82 points [Wilder ignored the two-point deduction his side received] after 38 games. Sheffield Wednesday are on 51, their season’s done. Ours is still alive.”

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	38	23	11	4	76	25	51	80
2	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	38	25	7	6	53	28	25	80
3	BurnleyBurnley	38	21	15	2	52	11	41	78
4	SunderlandSunderland	38	19	12	7	55	37	18	69
5	CoventryCoventry	38	17	8	13	55	48	7	59
6	West BromWest Brom	38	13	18	7	48	34	14	57

Wilder went on to poke any Wednesday fan who might have been feeling smug at the start of the season, given United’s relegation from the top flight.

He added: “Those supporters that had bets with Sheffield Wednesday fans in the summer about who will finish higher, I hope they’ve cashed in and enjoy their winnings. We’re 31 points clear of them, that’s quite big.

“We weren’t even thinking about going joint top, it was you have the opportunity of winning a Sheffield double. I enjoy it because I didn’t enjoy it for a long time. No Sheffield United fans did.”

Sheffield United dominate Sheffield Wednesday again

Sheffield United are enjoying a real period of dominance over their neighbours at the moment, though. Wilder taught Rohl a lesson back in November, and did it again this weekend.

That’s now five games without scoring against United for Wednesday, a run stretching back to 2017. The Blades haven’t tasted defeat against their Sheffield rivals since 2012.

But, Wilder remembers when it was a very different story not so long ago.

He continued: “We were ridiculed. I was called a Meadowhall League manager and Carlos was called a Champions League manager before we beat them 4-2.

“I got LMA manager of the year in 2019, I’ve got five promotions and now we’re in the mix with unbelievable opposition at the top of the division. We might not do it but we’ve put ourselves in a good position.

“When I went for a run [yesterday morning] to try and clear my head, all I was thinking about was winning a game of football. We’ve got a lovely habit, no matter what anyone says about how we play. We’ve won a game of football and the opposition would swap it in a heartbeat to be in our position.”

• READ MORE: Is this the best Sheffield Wednesday XI of the 21st century?

Are Sheffield Wednesday’s play-off hopes over?

To say the Owls’ season is over is perhaps a little premature, as unlikely as they are to now grab a play-off spot.

Wednesday are six points off the top six with eight games to go, and while they’d still be considered play-off contenders right now, the inconsistency they’ve displayed this season will surely be their downfall in the long-run.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
6	West BromWest Brom	38	13	18	7	48	34	14	57
7	Bristol CityBristol City	38	14	15	9	49	41	8	57
8	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	38	15	9	14	57	48	9	54
9	BlackburnBlackburn	38	15	7	16	42	40	2	52
10	WatfordWatford	38	15	7	16	47	51	-4	52
11	MillwallMillwall	38	13	12	13	37	39	-2	51
12	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	38	14	9	15	53	59	-6	51
13	NorwichNorwich	38	12	13	13	60	54	6	49
14	PrestonPreston	38	10	17	11	39	44	-5	47
15	QPRQPR	38	11	12	15	44	50	-6	45
16	SwanseaSwansea	38	12	8	18	38	49	-11	44
17	PortsmouthPortsmouth	38	11	9	18	46	61	-15	42

Indeed, Danny Rohl’s side would need a monumental collapse from a number of the teams in front of them, and for themselves to hit a real purple patch.

Stranger things have happened, but it does look like midtable comfortability will be the end result for the Sheffield Wednesday manager this season.