Wilder on injuries, relegation fight and being 'in it to win it'
- Published
Chris Wilder has been speaking to the media before Sheffield United host Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday (15:00 BST kick-off).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Wilder confirmed Jack Robinson and Jayden Bogle are both "struggling" to be available for the weekend and said it is a "blow" for the team to lose "two influential players in the group – Jack from a leadership point of view and Jayden as one of our most outstanding players in the way he has gone about his business".
On if he was hopeful they would be back before the end of the season: "We are. My frustration has been the soft tissue injuries the season. These boys have both had injuries, ankle ligament damages, from falling... We are frustrated but most frustrating is when you lose players to soft tissues injuries or in training - those are the ones that hurt us."
He added: "Last time in the Premier League in 2019-20, availability for training and playing was at 90%. We are nowhere near that this season and that will go a long way for us to have a successful season - whatever division we are in next year."
He said staying up "has got to be our aim", adding: "We want to take it down to the wire and we understand the importance of every game."
On the decision to scrap FA Cup replays after the first round: "The game is dominated by the big boys, and the big boys don't want FA Cup replays, do they? There is an argument that they are bringing all the money into the game. I'm a traditionalist, so what does that do to non-league clubs that get into the fairytale world of round three and get a draw at home and the financial implications for them of getting a draw at a big club?"
On whether players like Daniel Jebbison are having options in their contracts exercised: "Daniel Jebbison is close to agreeing, if not agreed. It will be announced when the pen is in his hand and he signs."
Wilder said opponents Burnley "had a more settled pre-season than what we had, but like us they have found it difficult and found results difficult to come by". He added: "Both teams are after three points. We are in it to win it and so will they be. We haven't picked up enough points that performances have deserved recently. We need to play well, show the qualities of recent games and marry performance with a big result."
