Why Ruben Selles made "no-brainer" decision to join Sheffield United | OneFootball

The Blades moved quickly to bring in Chris Wilder's successor.

Ruben Selles has said it was a no-brainer to join Sheffield United following the departure of Chris Wilder.

The Spaniard's arrival was confirmed shortly after Wilder's second stint in charge of the club that he supports ended.

Wilder has taken charge of more than 300 matches as United boss since first being appointed in May 2016. But, after missing out on promotion to the Premier League, the Blades' owners, COH Sports, decided to pivot in a different direction.

Selles, the former head honcho of Hull City, Reading and Southampton, had been out of work for just over a month since he was sacked by the Tigers.

He helped them to survive being relegated from the Championship last season and now has a chance to lead a side who are among the current favourites to go up next term.

Ruben Selles reveals why he joined Sheffield United

In his first interview since taking the reins, the 42-year-old revealed it was an easy decision to come to Bramall Lane.

"When we first heard about the possibility of coming here, it was a no-brainer for us to join a club with this kind of history and with a mission to move forward and try to be even more competitive," Selles said.

"It's a very powerful and ambitious project. Obviously, right now, the vision is just to create a sustainable model where we can have a team that can be really powerful, and, in the long-term, to have a team that we can recognise, that we can be excited about with the style of play, and obviously try to reach the maximum level."

COH Sports are bringing a heavy focus on data to the Blades. They have made a few signings since their first transfer window, in January, based off an AI model that they are using.

Suggestions that former boss Wilder wasn't entirely on board with this new way of thinking were downplayed as the reason behind his exit. Selles, who has a background in analytics, is on board with the owners' vision, but also understands the need to keep things simple and traditional at times.

"You need to embrace not only the data and the new technology, but the most important thing is don't forget the football essence," said the Spaniard.

"So I think we are capable of delivering a good model where we can optimise our performance by using all of the tools that we have.

"I think that because of my background working in some different roles and in different technical staffs I'm capable of understanding and putting those things together, as we have done in our previous clubs, so I think it's a big excitement for me to be able and capable to do it.

"It's very important that when you start conversations and come to a club that everyone is on the same page, and I think, from the very beginning, from the start of our meetings and the way that we have been talking we see the game in the same way," the 42-year-old added.

"It's important to be supported by the ownership group in terms of the idea, and also to support the club in terms of how we can move the club forward."

Sheffield United have put a lot of weight on Ruben Selles' shoulders

The Blades are taking a risk by getting rid of a manager that has just amassed 92 points in a season (90 when you include the two-point deduction) in favour of someone who hasn't had a lot of success at the top end of divisions in the EFL.

That said, his work at Reading was impressive given the restraints he was under, and keeping Hull up was a bit of an underrated achievement given the unfounded expectations of their owner.