Wilder is heading back to Bramall Lane (Picture: Getty)
Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah has confirmed the return of Chris Wilder as their new manager after parting ways with Paul Heckingbottom.
The Blades sit bottom of the Premier League with five points from 14 games so far and were hammered 5-0 by Burnley on Saturday.
Heckingbottom is now the first Premier League manager to be sacked this term, paving the way for Wilder’s return after he was sacked by the club in 2021.
Prince Abdullah confirmed Wilder’s return on Tuesday. He told talkSPORT: ‘Yes [I have made the decision].
‘Chris is practically an honour of the club, he’s part of Sheffield United history. One thing I always like to do, not just in football but all of my businesses, is to keep a good relationship with my ex-employees no matter how it ended, I think you should get over it.
‘At the end of the day we’re all passionate about what we do and we believe Chris is the right man for the job.
‘Chris has done great things for the club and in my opinion he’s the best guy on planet earth to take over the club right now in these circumstances.’
Paul Heckingbottom is the first Premier League manager to be sacked this season (Getty)
Heckingbottom initially replaced Wilder as interim boss before he was given the full-time role in November 2021.
He guided the club back to the top flight last season but has been critical of the club’s hierarchy for deciding to sell Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge in the summer.
On Heckingbottom’s departure, Abdullah continued: ‘I have mixed emotions about letting Paul go.
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‘I really have a lot of respect for Paul and everything he did for the club, he’s a very classy guy.
‘I’ve been at the club for five years and we changed one manager and that was Slav [Slavisa Jokanovic], so we believe in sticking with the manager and supporting him.
‘But I felt like after the last few games it was a necessary decision and the replacement has done great things for the clubs and knows the club, so I feel good about the decision in one way but I really have a tremendous respect for Paul.’
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