Chris Wilder tells Sheffield United's misfiring Tom Cannon: Believe in yourself as much as I do
Chris Wilder admits Tom Cannon has made it difficult for himself to succeed at Sheffield United, but says the striker has to show the same belief his club have in him.
Hitting the ground running in front of goal is important for any forward at a new club but 22-year-old Cannon has scored just once in 29 appearances since joining from Leicester City in January. Even that was overshadowed because it came in a losing cause on the day the Blades missed out on automatic promotion at Burnley in April.
Wilder admits that has put the pressure on a player billed as a £10m signing at the time, but says Cannon will continue to get opportunities and must take them.
Cannon has started once since Wilder returned to the club in September, and was substituted after an hour.
"He has to take the chances offered to him, whether that’s coming off the bench or starting," stressed Wilder. "We need that competition at the top of the pitch, so he's just got to keep working away and keep believing. We believe in him.
"We're working with him on the training ground and in the analysis room to improve his game. It's arguably the most difficult position on the football pitch.
"Tyrese (Campbell) was outstanding for us last season and now he's getting back to good form.
"It's a big boys’ game. I'm going to pick the players that I think needed to be picked in the right time and the right moment.
"He's just got to keep working away and when he gets an opportunity, impress from there."
Although Cannon was signed as a long-term investment after his statistics impressed the club's owners, Wilder admits his slow start in red-and-white has made life tougher.
"He's still a young player and everybody wants an instant (success)," said Wilder. "We're past that instant impact thing.
"He's made it difficult for himself, he understands that.
"There's some pressure on him but I'm not going to decide a player's future off the back of 20 or 25 games so far.
"There's always an opportunity but he has to take those opportunities and he understands that.
"He came here for a reason, to try and push us towards the Premier League, which he did. With Tyrese's involvement, Kieffer (Moore)'s involvement, it was a difficult task to get into the team, especially when you're off the back of an injury.
"He understands the pressure on him. It only takes a run of form to get himself back to where the majority, if not all, of the Championship were after him (in January).
"Sunderland wanted him off a loan with an obligation (to buy) if they went up. He had some good managers and some big teams that were after his signature. We have to keep faith with him and keep working away with him."
Meanwhile, the George Baldock Foundation are to hold a gala dinner at Stadium MK, where the late right wing-back started his career with Milton Keynes Dons.
The foundation has been set up in honour of the Blades 21st Century great, who died last October aged 31, to help disadvantaged children discover sport.
Tickets and further details are available at app.goinggone.io/the-george-baldock-foundation