Wilder on Sheffield United's 2-0 loss to Man City
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder on their 2-0 loss to Manchester City
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00:00 Hi, guys.
00:02 I'll do a bit for Mondays as well if you want, afterwards.
00:05 - Hi, Chris. - How is she?
00:07 - Hey. - Hello.
00:09 Hey.
00:10 Oh, yeah.
00:13 Do you have a question, do you want the microphone?
00:20 Hi, Chris, first of all, give us your verdict on that.
00:28 Felt like we played football for about five hours there.
00:32 I think the start, when you're walking out and you see five trophies,
00:38 it's home to you, who you're playing against and what they've achieved.
00:42 So, first of all, congratulations from myself and everybody at Chef United
00:47 for the achievements that this football club,
00:50 under the leadership of arguably the best manager and one of the greats, has done.
00:55 Then it's game on and you realise how difficult it is,
00:59 obviously, from our point of view.
01:01 We were light in terms of Premier League experience
01:04 and a few of the boys that were missing as well.
01:07 But what we weren't light was a fight of character,
01:11 and that's delighted me since I've walked through the door.
01:14 The players have shown that they want to learn.
01:18 We have to have a structure.
01:20 We have to have an approach.
01:25 It's incredibly difficult, even for the top teams to come here
01:29 and not being defeaters for a team that's obviously having a little bit of a struggle
01:36 and is not as strong from a selection point of view to come here.
01:40 We have to hang on in there, we have to ride out moments.
01:43 We have to take big moments.
01:45 Unfortunately, we didn't.
01:47 We had a couple of those just back end of the first half.
01:50 We still understand that it was going to be a difficult second half,
01:53 but they stuck at it.
01:55 And great experience for the younger players,
01:59 great experience for the likes of Trusty and Vinny Souza,
02:04 who have not played at this level and not played at this arena before,
02:08 hopefully to learn and get better in the second part of the season.
02:11 You said before there's not a lot of Premier League experience in this group.
02:14 It can take things from every game, can't it?
02:16 It can take things from this, it can take that experience to go forward.
02:19 Yeah, there's no downside for this game today.
02:23 They're not daft, they understand who they're playing up against individually.
02:27 They understand who they're playing against as a team and what they've achieved.
02:31 You can go one way, you can go and try and meet that challenge head on
02:35 and do your best, or you can go out the back door.
02:39 I know there's plenty of teams that would have got done five or six
02:46 in the form and the feel and the vibe around the place.
02:51 Would have got done five or six today, and we didn't.
02:55 It's not a defeated attitude, but it's one of a pragmatic approach to the game.
03:03 Of course, we try and take something from it.
03:06 Great for the likes of Brooks, great for the like of Vassula.
03:09 Now, for me, it wasn't just regarding this game.
03:12 We always knew it would be an incredibly tough ask to go and get a result.
03:16 Like I said, we've come here with a lot stronger squad, in better nick,
03:20 from a confidence point of view, from a balance point of view,
03:23 before and found it incredibly difficult to get a result.
03:26 So, obviously, the comparison.
03:30 But for me, it's the overall six games now, what I've reflected on in there
03:34 to the players, what they've given me, what they've given themselves
03:40 and what they've shown.
03:42 I said after the first game against Liverpool, "Don't kid me, is this a one-off?"
03:46 And it wasn't a one-off in terms of their attitude.
03:49 And now what we have is time to work on the training ground.
03:53 Hopefully some additions coming into the group,
03:57 some boys that will be surplus to requirements,
04:00 and precious time on the training ground where we can work away
04:04 to make the team better in all aspects.
04:06 Touched on it there, in terms of the relatively early goal, a day like this,
04:10 a lot of teams would have gone on to lose.
04:12 Does that say a lot about the character?
04:14 I know the character's not in question, but is that to show again
04:16 what character this group has?
04:18 Yeah, I would say that, if you ask every Sheffield United supporter
04:21 over the last six games, what they've taken from the six games
04:24 is that the team's got fight in them.
04:26 And it's certainly, from my point of view, there's no hiding place out there.
04:30 They wanted to get on the ball.
04:32 You have to get the balance right.
04:34 Because they counter-press better than anybody.
04:37 If they lose it, and when they do, it's the very odd occasion.
04:42 They get it back pretty quickly, and you have to be brave.
04:47 So we try to play a little bit more.
04:50 We're a little bit loose in possession, and that's the attitude of Man City
04:56 and how they go about regaining possession from a tactical point of view as well,
04:59 and an attitude point of view as well.
05:02 It's a tough afternoon when you come here, and obviously that was the case.
05:10 The PFA chief executive said that players could take legal action
05:19 over the increasing number of games they're having to play.
05:22 You talked about your squad there, and it can be sometimes.
05:26 Do you understand that?
05:28 I really don't want to talk about stuff like that.
05:30 I just want to talk about today's game, if I'm honest.
05:33 It involves your players?
05:35 Yeah, it does, I don't want to talk about it.
05:37 I don't want to talk about the amount of games or whatever.
05:39 The feature list is there at the start of the season for us,
05:42 and we have to deal with it, and we're dealing with it to the best of our ability.
05:46 Chris, you said before the start that you played for five hours,
05:53 and it's a tough afternoon.
05:55 Can it be very demoralising for players playing City,
06:00 because you see so little of the ball,
06:02 and the fact that the concentration is never wavering?
06:06 You can always take something from the game,
06:09 and that was what we talked about before, the mindset of the game,
06:12 our approach to it.
06:14 We have to go and enjoy it and embrace it.
06:16 I've said this before, if the club didn't want to go up last year,
06:20 they should have lost the last five games of the season
06:23 and not had opportunities.
06:25 We did a little bit this morning in terms of the journeys of players
06:30 and where they've been and where they are now,
06:33 and where they started, where they could be playing today
06:38 and where they are playing today,
06:40 which is at the Etihad in front of a full house
06:43 against the best team in the world.
06:46 When you're walking out and you've got those five trophies,
06:52 it's got to inspire in a way.
06:56 We've had to suffer today, but in a perverse sort of way,
07:01 I wanted them to enjoy that challenge you're playing against
07:04 and what you're up against on the biggest stage.
07:07 I enjoyed watching my team today.
07:11 Of course they were going to suffer and not have the ball,
07:14 and when they do give it away, they're quick to get it back.
07:18 These are great memories and great experiences for the young players.
07:24 Asula running up against Okanji and Nathan Aki,
07:27 and Karl Walker, Andre Brooks, who's a young Sheffield boy
07:32 who's just broken the team, is up against one of his heroes,
07:36 and the journey that Karl's been on as well.
07:39 It's great, and his other players there,
07:41 that this is their first time playing at this level.
07:44 Be together, stick to your plan,
07:48 having to deal with not only great individuals,
07:52 but a great team that you're up against.
07:54 Hey, Stu.
07:57 Chris, what was the mood like in the dressing room afterwards?
08:00 I imagine you're all wired, you want to win,
08:03 but as you said, there's a realistic edge to it.
08:06 You've just got to be absolutely spot-on, Stu.
08:08 You've got to get that balance right, I've got to get that tone right as well.
08:11 You've got to get that tone before.
08:14 You can't show an unbelievable amount of Man City
08:18 because you'll have sleepless nights,
08:20 but you have to show enough to show what they're good at
08:23 and how the small moments, opportunities you get,
08:27 where you can try to hurt them as well.
08:30 So getting that balance right and getting the mood right.
08:32 The mood was great before, which was good,
08:35 and allowed us. We were disappointed with the goal.
08:38 There was a mistack in there,
08:41 and maybe Jack needs to go and step in to Rodri a little bit earlier,
08:44 but he's found a fabulous finish as well.
08:47 They're disappointing because they're professional sportsmen
08:54 and they want to get something from the game, from a points total.
08:58 I think it's important that the messages that I give them
09:03 are the right messages, and the right message today for me
09:06 was to tell them regarding the six games that we've had.
09:09 The Liverpool, the Chelsea, the Villa,
09:12 the game today,
09:17 and even the other two challenges that we've had,
09:21 the Luton game and the Brentford game,
09:24 and how consistent they've been.
09:26 That gives you an opportunity to improve.
09:29 It gives you an opportunity to be competitive,
09:31 which I believe even the most critically shuffled United supporters
09:35 would say that we have been competitive in every game.
09:38 But it is a different sport that we're playing,
09:42 playing Man City when you're the likes of Sheffield United.
09:46 Everybody will have their own way and view of how you go about it,
09:50 and get up the pitch and get on the halfway line and make tackles,
09:53 and they'll find a way.
09:55 They'll play through you, they'll play over you, they'll play around you.
09:58 They hit more diagonal balls.
10:00 Ball from Rodri to Karl Walker is on.
10:05 They've got their answers to anything that you set up against.
10:10 More so, Stu, today in the changing room afterwards,
10:16 was a reflection of the six games.
10:19 Get rested.
10:21 We've got a load of work to do in the second part of the season.
10:24 We've got an important cup tie that we're going to go out and tack.
10:27 And then we've got Premier League games coming up at the back end of the window.
10:32 In terms of personnel, we'll have the likes of Anel Baik,
10:35 we'll have Gus Baik, we'll have Makati Baik,
10:37 the three huge players for us that walk into our team.
10:41 Hopefully we'll have Tom Davies, a little bit closer player,
10:44 that's got Premier League experience.
10:46 There'll be more minutes for Rhys Norrington-Davies,
10:48 more minutes for Rhian Brewster,
10:50 more minutes for Olly Mack to recover from the injuries that he's had.
10:56 And then on top, we're looking at bringing a couple, two or three in,
11:00 that will make the group stronger.
11:02 I 100% believe that the group will be stronger
11:05 for the next time we turn out in a Premier League game,
11:08 through time on the training ground, through personnel,
11:10 through players that will be available.
11:13 We go again and say, "Let's have a right go in the second part of the season,"
11:17 similar to how we have done to approach this game.
11:20 I won't let that standard drop in terms of an attitude
11:23 and a commitment to the game.
11:26 But we have to get better, be in a better footballing team,
11:29 if that makes sense, and I'm sure we will.
11:31 Does this feel like the end of the first phase?
11:35 It's largely been two games a week up to now,
11:38 it's largely been one game a week.
11:40 Definitely, yes.
11:42 I think we've always been, if you look at the teams that we've had,
11:46 we've always got strong in the second part of the season.
11:49 It's not a thing that we come out of pre-season
11:52 and we're really good at the start.
11:54 You want to be at a level, of course,
11:56 but I think all the teams that we've had have got better in the second part of the season
12:01 through the work that we do.
12:03 Obviously, time has been a minimum and a premium
12:07 and we have to make sure that we use that time really well
12:11 and maximise that time on the training ground to make us better.
12:15 For the lads who have never played against City before,
12:17 it's obviously a different level, as you've said.
12:19 You'll have seen them on the telly, but actually experiencing it first-hand,
12:23 what sorts of things would the lads have liked to have seen or learned?
12:26 Well, a fantastic place to come and play,
12:29 to come up against, decisions that they make.
12:32 For me, everybody talks about the ability, tactically, the way they play.
12:38 It's just the attitude of the players.
12:40 The attitude of the players is first-class.
12:42 They want to run forward, they want to play forward,
12:44 they want to run back, they want to recover,
12:46 they want to go and get the ball back.
12:48 So there's a lot of things that people talk about
12:50 from the technical and tactical team work that they do.
12:56 But for me, it's that mentality and the physical aspect
13:01 that allows them to marry up the other bits,
13:07 that allows them to put five trophies on the touchline
13:14 to show everybody, me included and our team,
13:17 what we're up against today.
13:19 We'll do a bit of Mondays Outside if anybody wants any more.
13:22 Cheers. Thank you.
13:23 Cheers.
13:24 Happy New Year.
13:25 Cheers, and you guys.