Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder admits he has a soft spot for Everton

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Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has admitted Everton are his second team despite having plenty of Liverpool fans in his family.

Wilder is of course in charge of his boyhood club but admitted on the One of Our Own podcast that the Toffees are his second team.

He said: “When I was an apprentice at Southampton, all my family over there were Liverpool fans. But this is quite a funny one because I watched the team [Everton] at the time when I was an apprentice at Southampton come there when they were champions two seasons on the bounce.

“I couldn’t believe how together they were and what a good group they were and how that group of players played, how you’d enjoy playing for that team. Obviously Howard managed here as well, and you knew about how they enjoyed themselves away from [the pitch] so I suppose that’s possibly one of the big reasons!”

TBR’s View – Wilder’s Blades reminiscent of Moyes’ Everton

Wilder’s Blades side are in and around the European spots, somewhere very few observers will have expected them to be when the season kicked off.

He has done sensationally well on a budget, without too many standout stars but with a very clear gameplan which is drilled into his players, who give him their all every week.

It’s similar to when David Moyes kept Everton in European contention despite not having too much money to spend, but doing it in the first year after promotion from the Championship is another level.