Exclusive: Billy Sharp makes big Chris Wilder, Sheffield United claim | OneFootball

The Sheffield United legend revealed his thoughts surrounding the new mural commissioned by Midnite

Blades legend Billy Sharp has hailed Chris Wilder as "pound for pound the best Sheffield United manager" ever.

The Yorkshire-born duo achieved two promotions together in red and white stripes, which started when Wilder first managed the club in 2016.

Nearly a full decade on since then, Sharp opened up to FLW on his ex-boss - who is now back at the United helm for the third time - whilst sharing his opinion on the "great" city of Sheffield.

Billy Sharp calls Chris Wilder the 'best Sheffield United manager ever'

Reacting to the pictured artwork, Sharp told FLW: "I know it's on the side of a pub, The Railway, but you know, he'll drive past that every time he goes to Bramall Lane, so it's a nice reminder of the memories that we've made and the achievements that he's done for the club.

"He’s pound for pound the best Sheffield United manager that's managed Sheffield United. So, he deserves something."

In that aforementioned 16/17 promotion season, Sharp was at the forefront of getting Blades out of the third tier. Handed the captain's armband by Wilder in pre-season, he scored a total of 30 league goals and managed seven assists.

Two seasons later, United secured promotion back to the Premier League in 2019, which ended a 12‑year absence from the top flight - with Sharp adding to his comments about the mural: "I'm sure he'll smile when he sees that photo and it'll remind him of the achievements that you can make in football."

Sharp then joked about a poster of him and fellow ex-Blade David McGoldrick being "pulled down" to make way for the Mural, but he couldn’t think of anyone better who "deserves it" than Wilder.

He said: "I think me and Didzy might have been pulled down. There's a little poster of me and Didzy on the wall, but I think that might have gone now.

"If there's anyone who deserves it, it's him. I'm sure it's nice for him to drive past and smile and, yeah, I like it when clubs do that. You know, I think Liverpool are a big club who do murals and stuff like that.

"And I think it's nice to share the memories and the images of past players and managers who have played for the club. It's nice for the fans as well to remind them of, you know, maybe when things aren't quite going so good, just remember the good times, and they always outweigh the not so good times."

Like Sharp thinks, Liverpool does indeed have a lot of murals and street art that celebrate the achievements of those either from the city or connected to the Reds - 21 in total, according to This Is Anfield.

When asked to describe Wilder’s standout qualities as a manager, the former Blades skipper explained what makes the 58-year-old worthy of being featured on Midnite’s mural.

Sharp revealed: "He definitely keeps you on your toes. When you think you've cracked it, he'll come down on you and make sure that you keep going. There's no room for, you know, slacking and if you're not quite doing it, he'll make sure he gets into you. And you want to run through a brick wall for him.

"He rewards you when you're doing good and when you're doing well as a group, he'll always reward the group, which that's all you want from a manager."

The striker's description of wanting to ‘run for a brick wall for him’ is more than a throwaway line - it is what arguably makes Wilder’s best United sides so strong. Sharp continued by saying: "You want the open, honest and sometimes harsh words, but no, the man-management and the motivational side is, as you can see from the sidelines, he still kicks and heads every ball, and he's passionate in what he does.

"I think anybody who plays for him, like I say, they run through everything, and he's a big believer in headers, tackles, and races. Before anything, you've got to go and win individual duels - and if you're doing that, and you’re maybe not having a great game, he'll always want you on his team because that's what he instills into his teams from the start to the finish."

Along with talking about why Wilder deserves to have his own mural, Sharp is fully behind Midnite's initiative from a fan perspective - because it's "great for the people of Sheffield to be recognised".

"Listen, Sheffield's a great city," Sharp said. "It’s got two brilliant football clubs and it’s got a lot of sporting heroes as well it's got a lot of football history. Even outside of football, it's got a lot of sporting history.

"We have lots of local people, like Pete McKee who does murals and pictures of sporting people. I think there's one on Ecclesall Road with all three, Sheffield United, Wednesday, and Sheffield FC.

"It's great. I'm all for it. It's great for the people of Sheffield to be recognised and the community in Sheffield is, like I say, they're blessed with two brilliant football clubs and a lot of good, good sports people as well," he concluded.