Have your say: I gave Owls my all but I am firmly on Blades’ side now, says Wilson

The man who played in four Steel City derbies for the Owls, including an FA Cup semi-final victory at Wembley, insists that he is now totally committed to the Blades.

Whether the Blades are as committed to him just yet is unclear. He should, however, have a better idea after Sunday’s game.

No other manager in history had been in office at both Sheffield clubs prior to Wilson’s summer arrival at Bramall Lane.

It may have been 11 years since the end of his short and ill-fated reign across the city but around 200 Blades supporters staged an angry protest in the club’s car park on his appointment.

Things have improved during the last five months but even an impressive five wins in the first six games failed to spark signs of a genuine bond with the Bramall Lane Kop.

Wilson is working on that and a diet of good results is always the best way to a fan’s heart.

During a press conference at United’s Shirecliffe training ground yesterday, Wilson had an opportunity to express his feelings about Sunday’s reunion.

Only briefly were there signs of edginess, notably when this journalist asked about the reception he might get from Wednesday supporters.

Overall, he was in relaxed mood, stressing commitment to his new employers and looking to focus on the present rather than the past.

Fifty-one-year-old Wilson is one of the game’s more likeable characters. Honesty and dedication to duty have always been his watchwords as both a player and a manager.

Apart from the late Derek Dooley, however, no one can cross the Steel City divide without getting some degree of stick.

“You can’t re-write history but I will go into the heat of the battle on Sunday firmly on this side,” he stressed. “Over a long career as a player, and certainly as a manager, I have managed some very good football clubs and with every club, and this is Sheffield Wednesday included, I have been very, very committed.

“This is no different. I am very committed to Sheffield United,” he said. “But when it comes down to it, this is not about me.

“People will make it out to be, people will make it a different story I suppose. It’s a slant on the game, isn’t it? But that’s of no consequence to me.”

Unfortunately, as hard as Wilson tried, there was no escaping a string of questions from both written and broadcast journalists about his unique role in Sunday’s theatre.

And it was the subject of the likely reception from ‘Wednesday-ites’ – those who worshipped him as a player but chanted for his head as a manager – which ruffled the former Owl’s feathers.

“I don’t give a ****. Why should I?” he snapped. The calm exterior had briefly cracked but it was soon mended.

“I had a fantastic relationship with the Wednesday supporters and I still have in my opinion – but that’s only my opinion, that counts for nothing,” he said.

“The most important thing is that I have been committed to the clubs I have been with, exactly the same, and I am very committed to winning with this one.”

When Wilson took over as Wednesday manager in 1998, he had just been relegated from the Premier League with neighbours Barnsley.

His success in making history with the Tykes, never previously a top-flight club, had captured the imagination of the Owls’ board. Yet his return lasted just 20 months and ended in Wednesday waving farewell to the top flight.

Surprisingly, Wilson was still unaware yesterday that his appointment represented a first in Sheffield football. Although a former Owls player once managed the Blades, namely Ian Porterfield (1981-86), a former Owls manager had never done the same.

“I didn’t even know that – but I am very, very proud of that stat,” he commented. “Throughout my career, little milestones like that are what drive you on – but come that first kick of the ball in anger (on Sunday), it doesn’t matter to anybody.

“Of course, it’s got to be a special game for me but there’s not more of an emphasis because of what happened in previous years. I am really looking forward to it and it will be a fantastic occasion. It’s a few years since we have played each other but I don’t think it gets any less intense.”

Ironically, in Wilson’s days as a Wednesday midfielder the Blades often had the upper hand in Steel City derbies. He enjoyed only one victory in his four derby appearances although that, arguably, was one of the most famous results when the clubs played at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.

This weekend’s derby is the first at League One level for 31 years – a sad state of affairs considering both teams were in the Premier League.

“Any derby game is a special game, no matter where you play and how big the crowds are,” said Wilson. “But I think there are similarities between the clubs in where we find ourselves right now in the football pyramid.

“There is a desire to get back to where we belong. It becomes even more intense in that respect. It possibly makes it a bit more passionate.”

Asked whether he had now been accepted by the Blades, Wilson said: “It’s not for me to say. All we set out to do was make progress which I feel we are doing.

“I feel we have had a good start to the season to a certain degree. As a manager of a football club, they were the targets I was trying to achieve. It’s still on-going but you would have to ask other people. It’s not for me to say.”

After three defeats in the last four games, maybe now is not the best time to ask United supporters that question. Win on Sunday, of course, and it will be a completely different story.