Chris Wilder Sheffield United make the trip to Fratton Park next Wednesday night

Chris Wilder has been backed to turn Sheffield United’s Championship fortunes around.

Blades chief executive Stephen Bettis has leapt to the defence of the 59-year-old, whose side lost their four of their last five games before the international break.

Three of those defeats came in the league, leaving the Bramall Lane outfit sitting 18th in the table ahead of their home game against Lincoln City on Saturday.

A trip to Fratton Park follows on Wednesday night, before United set off on their travels again for a game at Bristol City on Saturday, October 17.

According to Bettis, injuries have played a role in the Blades’ sluggish start to the new campaign.

However, the club chief believes the changes that were needed at Bramall Lane over the summer because of Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) restrictions can not be underestimated.

That saw the likes of Andre Brooks, Gustavo Hamer and Callum O’Hare sold and Wilder having limitations placed on his recruitment of replacements.

Speaking to our sister paper, The Star, Bettis said: ‘I think this was always going to be a tough year for us in the respect of SCR, and I think we all knew that if we didn’t get promoted last season, this was going to be a tough readjustment for us.

‘But we’ve made the readjustment, and then we can’t go writing huge cheques for transfer fees and wages because we’re already close to the limits for SCR, so that would push you over again.

‘We can only go into certain markets to replace those players this season, which we did and Chris did.

‘Then I think at the start of the season, in all honesty, we’ve been a bit unlucky with injuries. Femi Seriki, Harrison Burrows and Ryan Oné are our young, exciting talent that I think can be real game-changers for us.

‘Chris has been without those for quite a long period of this season so far, and I’m hoping most of them are back soon. I’d hope that we’ll see an uptick in the results when they are back and we’ve got a full squad again.’

Wilder, who is in his second spell as manager at Bramall Lane, was awarded a new contract in the summer which takes him up to to 2028.

Bettis said the former Oxford United boss wouldn’t have received an extension if he felt the manager wasn’t up for the job.

‘Chris has proven it time and time again and, in a weird way, if you really sit and talk to Chris, this is where he excels at this level,’ he added.

‘Sometimes having too big a cheque makes it really difficult and I think he has a track record of doing well (with limited resources).

‘I think that’s why we trusted him and that’s why he got a contract extension in the summer, because we trust him to do what he’s done previously and continue to do that going forward.’

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