The Albany Gazette - Sheffield United reappoint Wilder after Heckingbottom axing

Heckingbottom is the first boss to be sacked in the Premier League this season, with 11 defeats in 14 league games leaving United bottom of the table, four points from safety.

Reeling from a 5-0 hammering at relegation rivals Burnley at the weekend, the club have turned to former boss Wilder in a bid to avoid relegation.

Wilder is a popular figure at Bramall Lane after representing the club as a player and guiding them from the third tier to ninth in the Premier League during his first spell in the dugout.

The boyhood Blades fan left United by mutual consent in March 2021 after almost five years in charge.

Wilder has since had unsuccessful spells at Middlesbrough and Watford, but his return to Sheffield has reignited his passion for management.

"I am going to give it my all, I am more enthusiastic and determined than I have ever been," he said. "Sheffield United are getting me at my best as well.

"For me this is a huge challenge personally, and I am rubbing my hands together to try and help the club get out of the position we are in.

"We are up against it, everyone in the world thinks we are done and dusted. We have always had that underdog tag, that mentality."

Wilder is back in Yorkshire on a survival mission after United failed to build on last season's promotion from the Championship.

- 'Make a difference' -

Heckingbottom, appointed permanent manager in November 2021, guided the club back to the Premier League with a second-placed finish in the second tier.

But the humiliation at Burnley -- United's third loss by five goals or more this season including an 8-0 thrashing by Newcastle -- proved the final straw for angry supporters, who turned on Heckingbottom before the axe fell on the boss on Tuesday.

"After slipping to the bottom of the table and a number of disappointing results and performances, it is felt that a change is needed to give the club a boost and every possible chance of remaining in the Premier League beyond this season," said United chief executive Stephen Bettis.

Shortly after Heckingbottom's exit, the club issued a fresh statement, confirming Wilder was back in the hot seat, having signed a contract until 2025.

Bettis said Wilder was "the best possible option to give the Blades a change in fortune".

However, Wilder, whose first game comes at home to Liverpool on Wednesday, is well aware of the task facing him to lift United to safety.

"I have come back to help the football club. I have been given a great opportunity to hopefully make a difference," he said.

"It is going to be a long hard season, we know that, we are going to have some difficult moments and we are going to have to suffer. I am into the players and hopefully we can get a reaction."

Despite the struggles of a number of clubs at the bottom of the Premier League, Heckingbottom is the first managerial casualty this term after there were a record 14 changes in the 2022/23 campaign.

(D.Lewis--TAG)