Blades boss Chris Wilder insists he did not touch Jerry Yates as tempers flare

Posted Sunday, September 22, 2024 by PA

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder insisted he did not touch Derby forward Jerry Yates in an incident which got both managers booked.

Tempers flared after Paul Warne felt Wilder pushed Yates as he tried to retrieve the ball for a throw-in during the Blades’ 1-0 win.

Wilder said of the altercation: “There’s no obligation for them to play at a really quick tempo and a quick speed.

“I think the referee has an obligation to speed it up a little bit. I wasn’t intentionally trying to do anything or as Paul said ‘touch his player’. The ball was there, I wanted to pick it up and throw it back into our player to speed the game up.

“There was a reaction from the player (Yates), I get a yellow card and I disagree with Paul.

“I’ve got an incredible amount of respect for him but it doesn’t mean I need to be his best mate on a Saturday afternoon. I’m fighting for my football club and doing what I think is right, which is getting the ball back into play.”

On the touchline spat, Warne said: “The ball went out of play and I thought Chris touched my player. I wouldn’t touch anyone’s player.

“I thought he put his hands on my player so I lost it. I told him straight. He said he didn’t and I have to respect the fact that he didn’t and I will look forward to watching it back. If he did, I will definitely tell him.”

Meanwhile, Wilder was pleased with Sheffield United’s game management.

Gustavo Hamer’s superb free-kick early in the second half was enough to see out another victory and Wilder said: “I’ve got to say, we prepared for a really tough game, so I’m delighted to get a 1-0 win and clean sheet.

“It was a bit bitty at times from our point of view. Credit to Darby in the set-up and they made it difficult.

“We had to be patient, we just didn’t knit it as well as I would have liked. I thought the players got a little bit frustrated with each other and the game.

“We calmed that down at half-time, moved the ball a little bit quicker, showed good energy right the way through the second half and found a magnificent winner.

“They are dangerous on the counter, they’ve got pace, they work their nuts off for the manager and the football club.

“We found the winner through Gus and our game management was absolutely spot on.

“We would have loved to have got a second goal to make it a little bit comfortable but we didn’t and 1-0 is enough to win a game of football and we move on.”

Warne had few complaints about the result, saying: “I’m pretty proud of my lads. We came here confident and we came trying to win the game.

“I asked the lads to gas out and they did. I thought second half we didn’t have as much threat as we did in the first half.

“Sheffield United got in the ascendancy and I did think it was going to be a set-piece goal. In fairness, it was one of the few midfielders who could put it in the top bag from there.

“We flipped the shape and the one opportunity we had where we could have slipped Kayden Jackson in, that could have been 1-1 and I could be sitting here as manager of the month.”