Under-pressure Adams calls on old pal Bassett to help him lift Blades out of Championship trouble

Former manager Bassett has been appointed football consultant and will be in the dressing room for tomorrow’s home game against Millwall.

The Blades have yet to win since Adams’s appointment as manager seven games ago and are four points adrift of safety in the Championship relegation zone.

Adams, who describes Bassett as his ‘mentor’, says the move will give him more time to concentrate on playing matters. The pair have worked together before at Nottingham Forest and Leicester City and Bassett, now 65, is still a hugely popular figure at Bramall Lane.

“This is the only challenge that could have tempted me to come back to football,” said Bassett last night. “Sheffield United has always been ‘my club’ and their result has always been the first one I’ve looked out for.

“I lived in Sheffield for 16 years and I have a lot of fond memories from my time there. I am delighted to be back involved.”

Although the Blades were relegated following Bassett’s arrival at the club in 1988, he led the club to back-to-back promotions and survived four seasons in the Premier League.

He was axed after seven years but went on to manage Crystal Palace, Forest, Barnsley and Leicester.

He had brief spells as assistant manager at Leeds United and Southampton but has spent the majority of the last seven years working in the media.

Explaining the reasons behind the move, Adams said: “This was my choice and my decision. I felt I needed help. He will be there on Saturday, sat in the stands, and will offer advice and encouragement before the game, half time and after the game. I don’t want people to be suspicious of this, we work well together and we are friends.

“He won’t work on the training field unless I ask him to but he will restructure this place behind the scenes,” Adams added. “The club needs a radical overhaul including the scouting and the player recruitment, they are two major problems. A lot of his time will be spent on the telephone talking to other managers and doing the general organisation.”

Adams has also spoken for the first time about the tabloid newspaper reports which prompted Blades chief executive Trevor Birch to offer public support earlier this week.

“I have not spent a lot of time worrying about it,” he said. “I am disappointed in the stories and the fact that we have to defend ourselves.”

Asked whether he felt more secure in his position as a result of the club’s response, Adams said: “No. How can a manager have security when he’s losing games of football? If I lose the next two, then the pressure is on. But that’s the same for every manager.”

Striker Jamie Ward, meanwhile, will return to the Blades’ squad after being axed last weekend but Adams said: “I expect everyone to give their all for this club whether on the training ground or in a match – if they don’t, we will fall out and I don’t apologise for being like that.”