Chris Wilder believes it was “the least they could do” for Sheffield United’s players and coaching staff to take a pay deferral to help the club through the coronavirus pandemic.
The promoted club’s entire squad, along with Wilder and his backroom team and chief executive Stephen Bettis, have agreed to defer 10 per cent of their wages for six months, even though they were one of the worst-paid teams in the Premier League.
Wilder said the rest of United’s financial decisions, including their summer transfer budget, are up in the air as contract talks with players have been postponed.
But he praised his players for their willingness to defer some of their current salary, saying: “It’s the least we could do to play our part. Myself, the staff and the players have been in negotiations about it, through [captain] Billy [Sharp] as well.
“It’s important we look after the club in the right way. I’ve had some lovely messages but it’s not a huge deal. The players have handled it magnificently. In six months, there could be a situation where this helps the club. The club is at its most powerful and gained momentum when it has been together.”
United are seventh in the Premier League and Wilder is adamant that the season should not be abandoned if at all possible.
He explained: “I believe we should finish the season off when it is safe and healthy to do so. There are too many experts in the field to risk the health and safety of people, let alone professional footballers.
"I don’t think we should be talking about starting another season when one hasn’t finished. From a morale point of view, I’m sure when we get football back it’ll give everyone a big morale boost.”
United, who are still in the FA Cup, have 10 league matches remaining and Wilder is unconcerned about the prospect of playing them in relatively quick succession.
“Just get the games completed and get the good news out there. I’ve heard some people moaning about playing two games a week. Liverpool have been doing it for about three years, so have Man City, so have Wolves,” he explained.
“If it’s at a neutral venue, why not, as long as we get back out there playing and give everybody a focus and purpose to our way back to normality.”
United’s John Lundstram and Phil Jagielka’s deals end in June, along with three loanees, including the in-form goalkeeper Dean Henderson, but Wilder thinks such issues can be resolved.
“From a legal point of view there will be discussions, but I don’t see it as a huge problem,” he said. “If I spoke to Jags in 20 minutes and said ‘we are going to extend your contract by a month, it's up to you,’ I know 100 per cent what his decision will be.”
United were in talks about new deals with Lundstram, Oliver Norwood and Chris Basham before football shut down but Wilder said: “They’ve been put on hold.
"Things like that can quickly be picked up and I’m sure they will be. I don’t think it’s right for players and agents to talk to us about contracts with the situation we’re going through: the economy, what it’s doing to small and big businesses, how much investments and savings have taken a hit and how far it has taken us back from an economical point of view.”
United spent a club record £22 million (Dh99.7m) on Sander Berge in January but Wilder is unsure how much money he will have to spend now.
He added: “Financially, we’ve talked about budgets for the summer, we don’t know if they will be affected in these uncertain times.”
