Chris Wilder says his Sheffield United players have found this week difficult following the shock death of former Blades defender George Baldock.
The Greece international was found dead in his swimming pool in Athens last week.
The full-back spent seven years at Bramall Lane, playing 219 games and helping the South Yorkshire club to two promotions to the Premier League, before joining Panathinaikos in the Greek Super League in the summer.
Wilder signed Baldock in 2017 after working with him at Oxford United, and said the club was still trying to cope with the news as they prepare for Friday’s Championship fixture at Leeds United.
“It’s been really difficult,” Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield. “It puts everything into perspective, doesn’t it?
“We’re in the industry of football, we’re football people, but there’s something miles bigger than the game of football on Friday.
“I’m having to talk about the game, and having to talk about the sad passing of a player that meant so much to everybody here at Sheffield United.”
Wilder initially signed Baldock on loan at Oxford United from MK Dons, where his career had been punctuated by a series of loans.
He went from that uncertainty to playing in the Premier League under both Wilder and his successor Paul Heckingbottom.
“Everybody admired how he went about his business, how his career went from where it did to being an international footballer, and just his general personality around the place, that we all got to know and love,” added Wilder.
“The words that have been said nailed it for me. The Greek national team, how they conducted themselves over two internationals, and Panathinaikos, was outstanding, and now we have as well.
“People don’t realise how close these boys are. The culture and unity we try to create in the football club; the environment and togetherness there has to be for a successful football team, there are relationships all the way through.
“I spoke to the players really quickly after the passing of George, what he was about, my memories of him. They are together five or six days a week, from nine o’clock to half past three, four o’clock, travelling on coaches, training every day, in hotels for away games, so their connection is huge.
“You might see an auntie or uncle once every three or four weeks, or see a friend once every two or three months, but these boys are in each others’ pockets 24/7 for 10 or 11 months of the season.
“But we have to get on with life, do what’s right and do what George would have wanted us to do, and so we have to crack on now.”
