Chris Wilder begins Sheffield United transfer drive after "big decisions" admission

Chris Wilder is looking to make the best of Sheffield United’s bad situation in relegation from the Premier League by getting a head start on talking to transfer targets for this summer. The Blades were relegated last weekend at Newcastle, a 5-1 defeat at St. James’ Park condemning them to the Championship with three games of the season still to play.

Although Wilder has vowed to give those final three games as much attention and focus as the previous 35, some attention is now switching towards a summer that the manager has once again described as the most important in the last decade of the club’s history. They host Nottingham Forest at Bramall Lane tomorrow and then sign off their campaign against Everton (away) and Tottenham Hotspur (home).

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“You're learning all the time, good and bad,” Wilder admitted. “It's been a disappointing and painful experience but we're always learning. You're down to the nitty-gritty decisions that have to be made and I've had experience of it, managing over 1,000 games and 250 here at Sheffield United. It is amazing because decisions I have to make at home I let other people get on with but at the club it's down to me, in conjunction with the CEO and coaches and the board.

“We've got to make some tough decisions this season but that's part of the game and if I don't then the club will suffer. So every decision make will hopefully aid and benefit the organisation. It is a poor season and we'll all own that, me included, we don't like what that looks like but to get into this position, personally and coaches-wise, we've had to win and do that consistently to get to the positions we're all in.

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“The attitude towards every training session and meeting and every single game is just as important, in terms of focus and organisation and preparation, as it was for the previous 35. We have a massive obligation to go out on a high and give our supporters something to hang on to for the summer, because we haven't done that this season.”

United have a host of players out of contract in the summer while a couple of high-profile sales are also expected to address the financial disparity between football in the Premier League and the Championship. “I’ve got great clarity and I have for quite a while,” Wilder added. “I’ve said it before - if players start turning up with four or five games to go, I’d be asking where that was 10 or 20 games ago.

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“It's an honest and correct way to look at it. I am too honest and open about views sometimes to my detriment and sometimes I should keep my counsel but that's the way I roll and this is a honest an down to earth football club. These decisions have been made, some easy and some tough, but all for the benefit of the football club.”

“I'm getting on with it now,” Wilder added. “Speaking to players and meeting agents and heavily in discussions with targets, speaking to players who might not be on the next part of the journey here and their agents because there are a lot of moving parts. Players out of contract and players who are in contract who may not be on the journey, options to take up and youngsters to look at as well. We're heavily engrossed anyway and have been for a while but now it steps up.”