Criticism of players' attitude has hurt - Wilder
Chris Wilder is in his third spell as Sheffield United manager
- Published
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder says criticism suggesting his side "can't wait for the season to finish" has hurt him.
Wilder, 58, was speaking after his side shared the spoils in a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Birmingham City despite spending the majority of the match down to 10 men.
Full-back Femi Seriki was sent off in the 23rd minute for a clumsy challenge on Ibrahim Osman and Blues striker Marvin Ducksch made the Blades pay by breaking the deadlock two minutes later.
Wilder's team responded, however, through Patrick Bamford's equaliser in first-half stoppage time and the visitors held off Blues' attacks to get the point at St Andrew's.
As well as praising his players' "fabulous performance", Wilder also used his post-match comments to address what he felt were unfair accusations about their attitude.
"I've been a bit disappointed this week with the minority negativity towards the players and everybody, I'll be honest about it," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"If I was a 31 or 32-year-old manager and said I didn't want to upset people, maybe I'd handle it differently, but I'm way past that.
"Then I hear nonsense about them turning it in and that they can't wait for the season to finish.
"That is so lazy and so disrespectful, in my opinion, to what the culture of the club is. It's hurt me a little bit because I think it's unjust."
Wilder, a former defender for United, is in his third spell in the Bramall Lane dugout after replacing Ruben Selles in September 2025, when the club were at the foot of the table without a point from five games.
The South Yorkshire club sit 15th in the Championship table on 50 points and look set to miss out on the play-offs with eight league games remaining.
Despite a mixed run of results, Wilder pointed to recent performances to underline his belief that the team remain committed.
"We came away from the QPR game two weeks ago feeling good about ourselves," he said.
"We worked hard to get a result there in west London and had a great end to the game.
"We didn't get the result we wanted against West Brom – we had four really good chances towards the end – and then at Norwich we got ourselves in front but couldn't find the second."
Wilder added: "There were no guarantees when I walked through the door.
"We're disappointed because we should be closer, in my opinion, but we're not entitled to win games of football."
