Chris Wilder praises 'fabulous manager' Nigel Clough as Sheffield United avenge Mansfield Town upset
Sheffield United have avenged last season’s defeat to Mansfield Town with a 3-0 Carabao Cup win at the One Call Stadium.
The Blades arrived in Mansfield with a point to prove after they fell to the Stags at Bramall Lane during last season’s FA Cup.
Nigel Clough’s side saw out a nail-biting 4-3 win to set up a fourth round clash against Burnley, who they also edged out of the tournament.
It was a statement result in an impressive Cup run for Stags, and Chris Wilder had the game fresh in his memory as he planned for the trip to the One Call Stadium, where he says is a tough stadium to perform at.
The Sheffield United boss was full of praise for Clough, who previously managed the Blades between 2013 and 2015.
“The draw, when it came out, was a difficult one for us – memories of last year when they turned us over, deservedly so, in the FA Cup,” Wilder told club media after the Carabao Cup win.
“Nigel is a super guy and a fabulous manager in my opinion, I enjoyed his time at Bramall Lane. I think he can count himself unlucky in terms of how that ended up.
“Mansfield’s approach and chucking David McGoldrick into the equation… this is a tough place to come and get a result.”
McGoldrick is also a figure Wilder knows well and has a lot of respect for. The striker spent four years with United and was part of the side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2019 under Wilder.
The Blades boss paid homage to Clough and McGoldrick both ahead of and after the match, describing the latter as ‘one of his favourite all-time players’ during his pre-match press conference.
On Clough, Wilder said earlier in the week: “Right the way through to when I was a young manager, I had the utmost respect for Nigel, when he was here as Sheffield United manager. I enjoyed his time and I’ve not always enjoyed other manager’s times here.
“I think he was relatively successful, I imagine he was disappointed in the manner that he left, given what he was potentially going to achieve. I know he was disappointed in that because I know he’s got a lot of respect and love for Sheffield United in a lot of different ways.”
Sheffield United reached the FA Cup semi-final, League Cup semi-final and the play-off semi-finals under the reign of Clough but their failure to earn promotion to the Championship ended in the manager’s dismissal from the South Yorkshire club in 2015.