There’s no shortage of added spice to Saturday’s Yorkshire derby
Oli McBurnie admits there will be some strange emotions when he comes up against his former club Sheffield United on Saturday, wearing the colours of Hull City at the MKM Stadium.
McBurnie will also face his old Bramall Lane boss Chris Wilder after he was brought back to the club earlier this month to replace ex-City head coach Ruben Selles following a disastrous start to the season, which left United bottom of the Championship after five straight defeats.
Wilder has lost two of his first three games since coming back and suffered defeat on Tuesday night against Southampton in a game where he was sent off at the break, so will therefore not be on the touchline this weekend. His sole victory so far came away from home at Oxford United.
United tried to sign the 29-year-old in the summer following his departure from Las Palmas, but it was City who pushed the boat out to sign the former Blade, and it’s proved to be an inspired decision so far with his midweek brace against Preston taking his tally to seven for the season.
“It’ll be an interesting one for me,” McBurnie told Hull Live. “I’ve not been back to the Blades since I left. I had some great times there. I’m excited for it, of course. It’ll be nice. Obviously, they’re not in the best of form right now, so we see it as a game we want to go and win, but we see every game as a game we want to go and win, especially at home.”
McBurnie won’t be the only former Blade in the City squad preparing for a reunion. Regan Slater came through the academy, having grown up a Blades fan, while John Egan and John Lundstram were both mainstays under Wilder in the Steel City, and while sporting director Jared Dublin was there for five years, but there will be no divided loyalties with the Tigers, determined to claim another big home scalp.
“We talk about it a lot,” McBurnie said of the United connection at City. “We made some amazing memories together, us boys, with that set of staff as well. It’ll be a funny one. It’ll be an interesting one. At the end of the day, I know what the gaffer’s (Wilder) like – there won’t be any niceties before the game. If we win, there probably won’t be any niceties after the game either. As soon as we’re over the line, it’s just another game of football.”
Former City chief Selles, who was appointed following Wilder’s sacking in the summer, was given his marching orders after a 5-0 thrashing at Ipswich Town.
Wilder, who led the Blades to a play-off final in May before suffering Wembley heartbreak against Sunderland, was sensationally brought back just 88 days after his departure, and it was a decision the Scotland international agreed with.
“For the record, I think they made the right decision with the gaffer going back,” the forward added. “I don’t think he could have done much more last year after winning 98 points or whatever they got (92 points). He’s someone I’ve got a lot of time for, a lot of respect for.
“He’s (Wilder) done a lot for me in my career, and I’ve got huge admiration for him as a person and a manager, so it’ll be nice to see him. But obviously I want to win on the day.”
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