Clement a signed up member of the Wilder fan club

Chris Wilder has had his (coach driver) run ins with Norwich City, but Philippe Clement is a fan of his Sheffield United counterpart ahead of their Carrow Road meeting.

Wilder’s jousts with Daniel Farke’s City collective added real spice to a Championship rivalry, with one memorable post-match rant taking Norwich’s team bus driver to task, after a delayed arrival prior to a Bramall Lane defeat for his Blades in 2017.

But Clement respects the job Wilder has done in multiple spells with the Yorkshire club, and revealed on Tuesday he had enjoyed the personal touch after December’s 1-1 draw in the corresponding game.

“Nice guy, also nice person,” said the Belgian. “So after the away game he invited us, like it happens a lot, and like I do also with the other colleagues after the game, to have a small drink together and to talk, and that was really pleasant.

"In Scotland in my time there we did it also. That was, for me, the first time, in my career. It's not something that is used to being done in Europe, but I think it's a really, really good tradition, and I like it.

“I like also to get to know the other managers. We all live a very specific life, and it's always interesting to talk about football, or non football stuff, and it shows also there's respect among each other.

Chris Wilder has had his battles with Norwich City down the years as Sheffield United boss (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

“They have taken a lot of points from January onwards and are still very ambitious to go to the play-offs. They are open about it.

"Chris is really vocal about it, also about the ambitions of the club to be in the play-offs. I think they had really big ambitions before the season, after their last season, where they were really close going to the Premier League.

“If you can get an ex-English international into your squad, for example, like (Kalvin) Phillips it's a very ambitious club. And he said also they're going to come here to go fully for the three points. That's going to be an interesting game for everybody to watch.

"Them, fans of Norwich, fans of Sheffield United, and also people who are neutral, because it's going to be two teams who play to win.”

Amankwah Forson had a big chance to seal a Norwich City win at Sheffield United in December's 1-1 draw (Image: Matt Wilkinson/Focus Images Ltd)

Clement kept to his short term mantra at Colney, as he assessed his aims for the final 11 league games of the regular season.

“We need to focus on results and, of course, progression in the squad, that levels rise of the players, but also that as a club we can get injured players back,” he said. “We missed a lot of our important players who are normally in the starting XI for a lot of people.

"We want to get them back, and we want the others to step up and to become stronger and better and as a team, collectively and individually. So that's the goal for every game.

“But every game has another challenge. Sheffield United is a totally different game than Leeds, and a totally different game than the next game, because every opponent has their specific qualities.

“They play very direct, very, very vertical, so we know what we will get, and it's about us stopping that and using our own qualities and our own style to get the three points, because that's always our goal, like I said from the beginning, in every game, and it has nothing to do with the ranking. It's just about the mindset.

“We want to continue the positive story that this team has brought with getting results, but also with good football. And not only getting results by defending and hoping that something falls out of the sky, also to do the right things with the ball and imposing our style.”

Philippe Clement is predicting an open game when Norwich City host Sheffield United (Image: Matt Wilkinson/Focus Images Ltd)

Pelle Mattsson is in contention for his first minutes since a January ankle injury to bolster a central midfield that can count on Kenny McLean for another year, after the Scot publicly confirmed earlier in the week his contract option had been extended.

“We had that clarity already. But it was not my position to speak outside about things that were arranged before my time,” said Clement. “It was clear already Kenny will be here next season. I'm really happy with him.

"I think he was also one of the few players who for the full 90 minutes played at the level of Leeds in the cup game. We need figures like that, and also with this consistency in training and playing games and being a leader, by example, but also a vocal leader.

“I'm really happy what he's been showing in these three months together.”