Crystal Palace v Sheffield United: Adaptability and balance key in getting Chris Wilder to milestone

Wikipedia reckons on 93 men worldwide having taken charge of 1,000 league matches. Wilder will join them when he leads his beloved club out against Crystal Palace. The man in the opposite dugout, Roy Hodgson, is already there.

It is some achievement, even if it does not resonate with Wilder, blissfully unaware until told before Monday's press conference. He would much rather celebrate a desperately-needed three points, but four figures is well worth raising a glass to.

Such longevity in a cut-throat business – Darren Moore was sacked by Huddersfield Town after 23 games on Monday and was still only their third shortest-serving "pemanent" manager of the last five years – owes much to his flexibility.

Because managing Sheffield United in the Premier League is a different job to when Wilder last did it, three years ago, and a world away from taking charge of Northern Counties (East) League Premier Division side Alfreton Town in 2001. He has also managed Halifax Town, Oxford United, Northampton Town, Middlesbrough and Watford.

"You have to evolve," he says. "Am I a better manager than when I started? Yes, and than when I left here.

"I'm not daft. I don't think you have that longevity in football if you keep making the same mistakes. You learn from experiences and not always good ones.

"My favourite of all time was Sir Alex (Ferguson), if you see some of his early clips at Aberdeen. But one of the things you also see is a burning ambition to win the next game and be successful year in, year out.

"You have to move with the times and be in touch with players. That's something we all have to do if we want to stay in touch with the game."

In taking Sheffield United from League One to ninth in the Premier League between 2016 and 2020 – in fairness they were on the road to relegation when he left the following year – Wilder pioneered a formation he tried to take to Middlesbrough and, initially, Watford.

So when he returned to Bramall Lane in December, some probably expected the old warrior to try and rekindle past glories using the methods that worked so well in the past. He is far shrewder than that.

"Tactically our work, I believe, is good," he argues. "You don't play Villa, Liverpool, Chelsea, Brentford or West Ham without knowing your stuff or you get found out.

"We're playing in a certain way which is totally different to what we've played (in his previous spell).

"The stats, comparable to the top clubs, are really healthy. The key, and the hardest thing, is the real detail. Whether Jayden Bogle goes through and puts it in the bottom corner or something happens at the top of the pitch where they show that quality.

"We're trying to bridge that gap, to play effective, winning football, and get that balance right but you have to move with the times, whether tactically, technically, from a stats point of view or mentality."

Wilder's references to stats underline how keen he is on the appliance of science, but regularly citing character shows he is not blinded by it.

"It (statistical analysis) is something we need to improve in the club and I've talked to the owners about that, in terms of analysts to cover more players and to get more men on the ground watching player," he says. "And from a preparation point of view, for individual players.

"But there has to be a balance with your experience and your eye. I've been at a club that just signed a couple of players on stats. It didn't work.

"It's quite easy to pick our best XI, and try and get those players but for a lot of clubs that's unrealistic so you have to find out what suits you.”

The "right one" is about character too, and having managed 1,000 league games means you can gather a lot of references.

"It's amazing how many players know players and how many I've managed know someone who knows someone," says Wilder, chasing the right-footed centre-back he wants to complete his winter recruitment, with Wes Foderingham likely to go on loan.

"I'm incredibly fortunate to have Alan (Knill), Keith Andrews, Jack Lester, Matt Duke, who I imagine have amassed about 2,500 league games at a whole host of clubs.

"I spoke about a player to Tommy Smith at Middlesbrough, who I really trust his opinion. You get an opportunity to speak to the player too.

"And sometimes, it’s just gut (instinct) really. I look back at Leon Clarke and at the time (Sheffield United signed him) I think he'd had about 20 clubs and nobody would have touched him. Al (Knill) had him for a short period, I knew a couple of people and we met Leon. He played a major part in our return to the Championship and a steadying influence in the first season back.

"In the last six or seven years there's been some absolute nutcases in that group. A group need personality to succeed."

A skilled, adaptable manager leading them is priceless.