Next Sheffield United Manager Odds: After Chris Wilder

If you're Sean Dyche, what does your next role look like? The former Everton boss has a knack of getting results but is unlikely to get anything other than a firefighting job in the Premier League.

In his recent media interviews, he has expressed frustration about obsessions over style of play in the modern game. If he doesn't want to be a stop-gap manager, he might need to consider a top Championship job. Sheffield United is definitely that. 

With Wilder cut from a similar "old school" cloth of straight shooting, the hierarchy and playing squad would likely warm to Dyche quickly. The manager, meanwhile, boasts a track record of extracting the absolute maximum from his squad.

This could be critical in what is likely to be a highly competitive second tier - and when trying to stay in the Premier League should he take them up. Dyche has won promotion out of the Championship twice before as well, which is another box ticked. 

Gary O'Neil would be a different kind of appointment to Sean Dyche, should Sheffield United go down that route. O'Neil is less experienced as a coach with a more football-focused philosophy, which many would argue gives a higher ceiling.

With the squad of players the Blades have at their disposal, you'd back O'Neil to get them competitive at the top end of the division, given the jobs he's done at Bournemouth and Wolves in the Premier League. 

Stylistic preferences aside, O'Neil does have one thing in common with the aforementioned Dyche. That is the fact that we're not sure he'll get offered an appealing Premier League job anytime soon.

As mentioned, he earned rave reviews for his time at Bournemouth and, initially, at Wolves but his replacement at both clubs have taken things on several levels, which will sow seeds of doubt for hiring clubs. 

The 42-year-old's ego is unlikely to see him take a job too far down the Championship, but a promotion-chasing club could well appeal. It could be the perfect next step for him too, given his relative inexperience as a manager.

If you can line up a number of pros against an equal number of cons for Dyche and O’Neil, is Steve Cooper the perfect blend of the two for Sheffield United?

Like the other two, Cooper has Premier League experience as a manager. He might also be hard pressed to get another crack at the top level without taking a team there himself, which is why the offer of a job like this would probably be of interest.

As for tactics, that’s where the Dyche-O’Neil hybrid really presents itself. He isn’t afraid to opt for a rigid, defence-first approach when it’s required but also wants his teams to get the ball down and play when the stage permits.

Combine that balanced philosophy with a record that has shown him win promotion and keep a team up in the Premier League and the Blades could do an awful lot worse.

The Sheffield United hierarchy have proven that they’re not afraid to return to a previously successful manager, hence why Chris Wilder is in his second spell right now. As such, Heckingbottom featuring among the next Sheffield United manager odds won’t be a huge surprise.

Heckingbottom has been in the Bramall Lane hotseat twice before, once as interim and once as full-time manager. He guided them to Championship promotion in the latter stint, whilst he has also steered Barnsley to League One promotion earlier in his career; both serve as very relevant experiences of getting a team over the line.

Of course, with Heckingbottom having a torrid time at Preston at the moment, the prospect of a return does look less likely but he is the most successful Sheffield United manager of the last 12 years when focusing on win ratio so it’s probably unlikely rather than impossible.