Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has hailed Ben Mee as a smart signing after the veteran made his debut for the club on Saturday.
The 36-year-old has spent the majority of his career in the Premier League, first with Burnley and then with Brentford. He departed the Bees in the summer and joined up with United in August, initially on trial.
Then-manager Ruben Selles was impressed enough to offer the centre-back a one-year deal, which includes an option to extend. However, the Spaniard was dismissed two weeks after Mee’s arrival, with Chris Wilder returning to Bramall Lane for a third managerial stint.
Wilder Thrilled To Have Mee In Squad
Wilder handed Mee his debut in the Blades’ first win of the season against Oxford United on Saturday, which coincided with a first clean sheet. The ex-England under-21 was widely praised for his performance and was given a standing ovation by the travelling supporters at the end of the game.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s clash against Southampton, the manager admitted he was thrilled to have a player of such experience in what is a relatively young group:
“Ben Mee’s got plenty of plaudits for his performance at the weekend. He got shoved towards the away end to receive a bit of acclaim.
“He’s a smart signing. I like the idea of Ben coming into the football club. I still think it goes amiss in terms of how young the group are, and it was last season. We were the third youngest group in the division.
“So getting Ben in the team, I was contemplating that for the Charlton game. It was quite a difficult decision to make. I just felt that Ben needed a little bit more work. He played 45 minutes for the under-21s that week. But one of my big takeaways after the Charlton game was that we need to get Ben Mee into the team.”
Writer’s View
Ben Mee is a player that can still play at the highest level, despite being in the twilight years of his career. He has slowly been nurtured into the squad, with Wilder admitting that he had been keen to include the defender in his squad immediately after returning to the club. It’s no coincidence that his place in Saturday’s starting lineup saw the Blades keep their first clean sheet of the season. After playing 90 minutes, it will be interesting to see if he starts against Southampton tonight or if he is protected for Saturday’s trip to Hull City.
