David McGoldrick reveals incredible way Sheffield United players found out about Chris Wilder's departure

The manager who guided United into the Premier League after two promotions in three years from League One departed recently, after his relationship with the Bramall Lane board soured beyond repair.

And McGoldrick, who Wilder signed on a free transfer from Ipswich at the start of the season which saw United win automatic promotion from the Championship, revealed on Talksport: “It was tough.

“The weird thing is that it came out of the blue from nowhere. We went into training as normal and I was in the treatment room and someone said: ‘Look at this on Twitter’. Someone posted something saying the gaffer was going to be sacked and we hadn’t heard anything about that.

“There was talk a few months ago about this and that and we found a bit of form. It was a tough week when it happened; it didn’t get announced for nearly 48 hours and the boys didn’t properly meet Hecky [temporary manager Paul Heckingbottom].

“People think we have seen him a lot but we’re in different bubbles and the U23s aren’t allowed anywhere near us, so we haven’t seen him at all. We hadn’t seen how he works and vice versa, so he was chucked in the deep end for the Leicester game and it was a real tough week for the lads.”

Asked what qualities made Wilder the successful manager he is, McGoldrick said: “If you respect him, he’ll give you the same back. He’s a good man all round.”

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