Dave Bassett backs Chris Wilder to establish Sheffield United in the Premier League

DAVE BASSETT, for several years Chris Wilder’s mentor in management, has no qualms about Sheffield United making the step up to the Premier League.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder: Celebrating after the final whistle against Ipswich Town.Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder: Celebrating after the final whistle against Ipswich Town.
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder: Celebrating after the final whistle against Ipswich Town.

The Blades have clinched a return to the top flight after 12 years away and are now targeting the title.

Despite the Champagne corks still popping across the red and white half of the Steel City following a tumultuous weekend, United are already the favourites for the drop next season.

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Bassett, however, is not worried about how either his old club or one-time protégé Wilder will fare among the elite.

“Chris will do well in the Premier League,” Bassett told The Yorkshire Post. “I am confident of that. It is a new competition but he is used to stepping up a level. Just look at all those promotions.

Sheffield United should go in with confidence and play their own game. I watch Premier League games and this season’s Sheffield United are every bit as good as quite a few down the bottom end.

“Chris will make signings this summer, every promoted team does to take that next step.

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“There is no reason why he can’t establish the club at that level for years to come. No reason at all. I am certainly not worried.”

Bassett and Wilder first crossed paths when the latter was just eight months short of his 21st birthday.

The current Blades chief was on the playing staff at Bramall Lane and Bassett, on being appointed early in 1988, remembers a quiet lad with an exemplary attitude.

Ironically, Wilder’s time at the club he supported as a boy would end as a result of United’s promotion to the top flight in 1990 as Bassett looked for more pace in his defence.

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A bond, however, had been formed that has endured to such an extent that Wilder called Bassett just a few weeks ago to chat about the Championship promotion race.

“Chris is his own man and a very, very experienced manager,” added Bassett, who like Wilder led the Blades from the third tier to the top flight.

“He does not need any advice from me. We keep in touch but that is it. This time, though, I got the impression he was concerned about one or two things. We had a little chat and I gave him my opinion on a couple of things.

“I mentioned that year (1990) when we lost to Leeds 4-0 during the run-in. All of a sudden, there was a sense of despondency everywhere. It could have finished us.

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“But we got through that negativity and went up. I just wanted to remind him of that.”

Had Bassett got his way, Wilder would have been installed as United manager at least 12 months earlier than his eventual appointment in the summer of 2016.

“Kevin (McCabe, owner) has asked my opinion on a few things down the years,” added the 74-year-old. “I did mention Chris’s name when Sheffield United were looking for a manager.

“Chris had just gone to Northampton and kept them up. But the board went with Nigel Adkins. That did not work out and United finished 11th. During that time, Chris won the League Two title.

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“Kevin came back to me and asked about Chris. He had him in mind anyway. I fully endorsed it, I felt there was no-one better to sort things out.

“Chris had never managed at League One level but he had been a manager for a long time. He had done a great job in very difficult circumstances at Halifax, taken Oxford into the League and then saved Northampton when they looked to be already down.

“He is a Sheffield boy, he had played for Sheffield United and he seemed the ideal fit. Charlton Athletic wanted him that summer and the club did well to stop him. The chance to manage his team will have been a factor.”

Charlton’s loss was very much United’s gain. Wilder brought the League One title to the Lane in his first season and then finished 10th last term after being top of the table in November.

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Last weekend’s success completed a clean sweep of promotions for a manager who has now taken a team into each of the top four divisions in English football.

“Chris has been a manager for a long time,” added Bassett. “Sheffield United always seemed, to me, perfect for him.

“The club spent six years down in League One, which as we all know is ridiculous. But he got things going in that first year and then kept things moving forward.

“That is not an easy job. He has built a team. A real team full of committed players. Billy Sharp has had a new a lease of life, while lads like (Oliver) Norwood and (David) McGoldrick have slotted straight in.

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“There are no ‘Big-Time Charlies’ and no-one who is the star. I had the same at Wimbledon and then again at Sheffield United. We had no bad eggs, just really honest characters.

“Reaching the Premier League is an immense achievement. People don’t realise just what resources he has done this on.

“There is only Chris Basham who has really played in the Premier League. But Chris (Wilder) has picked the right players. Often lads who were unappreciated by others such as McGoldrick, who had been released by Ipswich. Chris gives them a new lease of life and here they all are, in the Premier League.”