EFL veteran Neil Warnock has made a startling admission about his time as Sheffield United head coach regarding their bitter rivals, Sheffield Wednesday.
Sheffield Wednesday have dominated the Championship headlines this summer for all the wrong reasons.
Overseen by owner Dejphon Chansiri, the Owls are in the midst of a financial crisis, with an EFL transfer embargo still hanging over Hillsborough.
The club’s financial crisis has seen forward duo Josh Windass and Michael Smith exit Sheffield Wednesday, and head coach Danny Rohl will soon join the pair out the exit doors, with Rohl set to leave Sheffield Wednesday soon.
Amid the club’s financial turmoil, legendary EFL manager Neil Warnock has lifted the lid on his previous move to become the Owls boss, which never materialised.
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty ImagesNeil Warnock ‘would have taken’ Sheffield Wednesday manager job
76-year-old Warnock is one of English Football’s most iconic managers, for his 40-year-long history in the dugout, and his larger-than-life presence.
From 1999-2007, Warnock was the manager of the Owls’ arch rivals, Sheffield United, where he suffered relegation from the Premier League with his boyhood club in 2006/07 after earning promotion from the Championship in the prior season.
Despite Warnock being a boyhood Blades fan, the Englishman has revealed he “would have taken” the Sheffield Wednesday job after initially being offered the job by former Owls chairman Milan Mandaric.
When probed on whether there was any truth in the Owls links, Warnock told Radio X: “Yeah, there was. Yeah, I would have took that, because I’d fallen out with people at Sheffield United, and I thought, ‘I’ll show them if that’s the case.’
“And I did. I spoke to Milan, who was Milan Mandarić, and I spoke to him, and he offered me the job and all that.
“And I said, ‘Alright, I tell you what, Milan, because I like you as a person’ – It was a Friday – I said, ‘You have a think about it, and talk to your chief exec and all that that and then ring me up on Monday morning at nine o’clock. If you still want me to manage you, I’ll manage you.’
“And I said, ‘And then you’ll know what’s what.’ Anyhow, he rang me at nine o’clock, and he said, ‘Neil, I understand what you’re saying, but thank you ever so much for being honest.’
“And I didn’t get the job because, you know, I think the chief exec and the contact with Sheffield United, and you know…
“But that didn’t bother me. I thought I had been messed on at Sheffield United. So, I wanted to go and show them what I could do, really.”
Warnock’s arrival at Hillsborough would certainly have sent shockwaves throughout the second tier, and Sheffield Wednesday could certainly do with his experience and pragmatism in the dugout next season.
Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty ImagesNeil Warnock wanted Sheffield Wednesday job before Danny Rohl’s appointment
Warnock spent the longest period of his managerial career in the Bramall Lane dugouts, after an eight-year association with his boyhood club.
Of 383 games in charge for the Blades, Warnock oversaw 165 victories, leaving his boyhood club with a 43 percent win rate.
Neil Warnock’s record as Sheffield United manager, as per Transfermarkt
Therefore, his potential move to Hillsborough in 2023 would have been marred by controversy, as Talk Sport reported that Warnock was “interested” in taking charge at Sheffield Wednesday after Xisco Munoz was sacked by Chansiri.
Rohl was chosen over Warnock, and the German led the Owls to safety in his first season in charge before overseeing Sheffield Wednesday’s 12th-placed finish in 2024/25.
Considering the calibre of job Rohl has done at Wednesday, the Hillsborough faithful will look back fondly at the decision to appoint him over Warnock, which unfortunately robbed neutral second tier supporters of a historic moment.