FROM the outside looking in, the work of Chris Wilder at Sheffield United this season has been nothing short of remarkable.

In what has been an astonishing rise all the way up from League One, Wilder’s Blades show no signs of slowing down.

Ahead of their clash with Cherries on Sunday (2pm), Sheffield United sit sixth in the Premier League table in their first season back in the top flight for more than a decade, currently just five points off a Champions League spot.

But someone who knows better than most about what has gone into Wilder’s men becoming one of the stories of the season in England’s top tier is former Blade Aaron Ramsdale.

Wilder gave the young goalkeeper his Sheffield United debut in November 2016, a 6-0 win over Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, before going on to sell him to Cherries two months later.

And it is a sale Wilder has admitted he will never forget, giving the green light on letting the then teenager depart for £800,000 during the Blades boss’s wedding day.

“He reminded me of that quite a lot,” said Ramsdale.

“I’m still in contact with him every now and then. He was basically my first manager who trusted me.

“He always remembers me through him selling me on his wedding day.

“He’s a great man and a great manager and obviously you can tell now with that squad and that club and it’s all about him. It’s all about Alan Knill, who probably doesn’t get enough credit, Darren Ward behind the scenes and those three have really galvanised that squad.

“When I go there I’m going to have respect for the fans obviously but let’s get it straight that I’m going there to spoil the fun and help Bournemouth get a win.”

Asked if he had expected Wilder to become a Premier League boss whilst working with him in the third tier, Ramsdale said: “That’s quite difficult to say. At the time we were in League One, you could tell that he was going to be destined for big things.

“You could tell we were going to get promoted in League One. Premier League, at some point but obviously not the rise they had.

“League One was easy for him, Championship was easy for him and there’s always doubters for some reason. Hopefully he’s getting the credit he deserves.”

He added: “It’s a special place to be when it’s going good. And it’s only been going good since Chris Wilder came in.

“I can’t speak highly enough of him. He was superb for me when I was there, been superb for players I’ve spoken to who have gone in there like Deano (Henderson).

“He creates an atmosphere which everyone enjoys, so when it’s going good it’s going really good and the lads are just confident. I speak to a handful of the lads quite often, even the lads who aren’t playing, they’re still enjoying it, still enjoying training and things like that so it’s a credit to them.

“But we’ve (just) put two good performances in so we’ll go there to try and get a third and see where that can take us.”

It is easy to forget that Ramsdale only made his Premier League debut in this reverse fixture back in August.

But the 21-year-old admits he is expecting a hostile reception from certain members of the home crowd when he competes back at Bramall Lane for the first time since leaving.

He said: “There’s a lot of the lads texting me saying they’re going to give me some stick in the Sheffield United end and I said they wouldn’t be my mates if they didn’t!

“I’m looking forward to that because at the end of the day it is a rivalry. I’m not going there as a Sheffield United fan, I’m going there as a Bournemouth player.

“I’m not going to be happy if we concede, I’m not going to be happy if we lose. Just because Sheffield United are doing well, that doesn’t mean anything to me.

“What’s the most important thing to me is this club, so when we score I’ll probably celebrate the same as I do when we’re at the Vitality and that’s how it goes.”