2017-18 Preview: Sheffield United confident they can cut it at higher level

Joe Root, the England cricket captain, was responsible for the missive, a heartfelt ‘congratulations’ from one Blade to another that their club’s six-year stay in League One was finally over.

For Wilder, someone who cut his managerial teeth in the unforgiving world of non-League football, a digital backslap from one of sport’s biggest names was as unexpected as it was appreciated.

“Joe texted after we won promotion and it was a really nice thing to do,” the 49-year-old told The Yorkshire Post. “Mind, he still hasn’t got me a ticket for the cricket yet. And I did ask!”

Wilder’s face, on pointing out his lack of Test match tickets this summer, sports a smile as broad as the one that greeted promotion and a record points haul last season.

It is not a surprise, the lifelong United fan having much to be happy about ahead of leading his beloved team in the Championship.

A new contract was just reward for last season’s success, while this summer has been a productive one at Bramall Lane thanks to some strong recruitment and a cash windfall from sell-ons inserted in the transfers of former players Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker.

As happy as Wilder feels, however, he is also at pains to stress that everyone at the club has their feet firmly on the ground with promotion now firmly in the past.

“We had things to celebrate last April and May,” the United chief says, his face now deadly serious. “And we deserved to celebrate like we did, giving it a right go after having given everything for 10 months.

“Myself, the staff and the players were last summer under perhaps the most pressure any group had faced playing for this club.

“In my time as a player and supporter, we were always in the Championship or if we did go down then we bounced back straight away. But, at the start of last season, we had been down there five years. That brought real pressure but the lads handled it well and dealt with it – which is why they deserved to celebrate promotion properly.

“But we are not a party club. That isn’t what Sheffield United is all about. How we pushed on after winning promotion (with a 2-1 victory at Northampton Town on April 8) proved that.

“We explained to the players the opportunity they had – to write themselves into the history of this club. No previous group had got 100 points before.

“To keep going like they did showed what they were all about.

“Yes, we had promotion wrapped up in early April. The title followed quite quickly after that.

“But we then had four more games and won them 3-0, 3-0, 3-0 and 3-2. The boys were relentless in terms of what they wanted to achieve.

“In terms of the scenes after the season, they were ones we enjoyed. But, in football, you have to be ready to go again quickly.

“The players had a good holiday but their attitude since getting back has been spot on. How they came back proved the summer had not been spent dining out on what had been achieved. That pleased me.

“I didn’t think there would be any of that but, as a manager, you have to keep an eye on things. So, in that respect, the attitude of everyone since we got back – new signings and the lads from last year – has been pleasing. We all want to take the club forward.”

Wilder demanding his players remain grounded ahead of the huge challenges that the Championship will bring is understandable.

The step up is a big one, as the fate of the last four clubs to clinch automatic promotion vividly illustrates with Wigan Athletic and MK Dons both lasting just one season in the second tier and Burton Albion finishing just a point clear of the drop zone last term. Even 2015 champions Bristol City, bank-rolled by billionaire Steve Lansdown, have only finished a modest 17th and 18th.

United’s task, therefore, is to buck this trend of struggling at the elevated level, a point this correspondent makes to Wilder.

“Bloody hell, Mr Negative,” he replies, quick-as-a-flash, before another smile breaks out across his face. “Clearly, we have got no chance!

“Anyway, despite your optimism, we don’t actually know what it will be like until we make that step up ourselves. Some managers I know say it is over-rated but others say it is a big one.

“We will only know when we step foot in this division ourselves.

“But what I will say is the Championship is a division that throws up surprises. Who would have thought before last season that Huddersfield would go up? Not among all the big teams that were in there with them.

“We are excited about coming into this division. The challenge is going to be tough, we are under no illusions.

“But we are looking forward to it.

“I am a respectful manager and, at every level I have managed, my teams have respected the opposition. If you don’t, you get turned over.

“Last year, if we had been an arrogant and big-time team then we would not have got the results we did.

“The Tuesday nights in wherever, when it is the middle of winter and we are away from home, would have seen us caught out.

“There are a lot of big clubs and a lot of fantastic players in the Championship but we are going in with our eyes open.

“We won’t change the way we attack teams. It is a step up but our principles won’t change.

“We won’t be going ultra-defensive, that’s for sure, and our aim is to upset a few teams.”

United have the opportunity to make their mark in the early weeks of the season. Trips to Middlesbrough and Sunderland, two of the trio relegated from the top flight, have to be made early on, while Derby County and Barnsley are due at the Lane before the end of the month along with opening day visitors – and play-off dark horses – Brentford. Neil Warnock’s Cardiff City also lay in wait on August 15.

“We are not here to just make up the numbers,” adds Wilder.

“Players have to realise that this is not a club that stands still. There is a bit of momentum from last season and we have to build on it.”

In Wilder, the Blades have a manager who will clearly not rest in his quest to drive the club on. He is also someone who, despite now having the England cricket captain’s mobile number in his ‘phone, insists nothing has changed. Or almost nothing.

“I might not have been to the cricket yet but I have had golf tickets off Matt Fitzpatrick,” he laughs. “So, it is all good. No, seriously, nothing has changed for me despite what we achieved last season. I live in a bubble and haven’t stepped out of that into a new life.”