Sheffield Utd Appoint Selles as Manager

Sheffield United have appointed Ruben Selles as manager just 45 minutes after Chris Wilder’s sacking.

Wilder’s sacking was announced at 6:45pm BST on Wednesday (18 June) after he failed to secure promotion with the Blades via the Championship Play-Offs.

The club however acted swiftly to announce his replacement 45 minutes later as ex Hull City boss, Selles was appointed as Wilder’s successor on a three-year contract until June 2028, and the Portuguese has already spoken of behalf of his coaching staff about the opportunity to take charge of the Blades.

“When we first heard about the possibility of coming here, it was a no brainer for us to join a club with this kind of history and with a mission to move forward and try to be even more competitive.

“This is a very powerful and ambitious project. It was very important at the start of the conversations that everyone is on the same page.”

Selles proceeded to explain that Sheffield Utd must evolve whilst staying true to their football ethics with aggressive play.

“We need to embrace data and new technologies, but the most important thing is not to forget the football essence. I think we are capable of delivering a good model and optimise our performance by using all the tools that we have.

“Our identity is always very clear. We want to be aggressive, we want to make things happen.

“So, the fans can expect a team which is not going to wait or be reactive, we will be proactive, we are going to go and try and be as competitive as we can in every single game. If we can do that then we’ll give ourselves a very good chance of winning games.”

Selles began his managerial career at Southampton where he took caretaker charge on two occasions in 2022-23 season, of which his second stint was extended until the end of that season before he was dismissed following the Saints’ relegation.

He went on to spend 18 months at Reading in League One before he moved to Hull in December 2024, where he oversaw 28 matches as the Tigers stayed up with a final-day draw at Portsmouth only to he sacked in mid-May.