Chris Wilder’s locker room in Middlesbrough when he declined to turn down Burnley job connections

At that time, Sol Bamba provided Chris Wilder with behind-the-scenes information at Middlesbrough.

Sol Bamba has discussed the impact of Chris Wilder’s inability to completely rule out connections to the open position at Burnley, and how he thinks the error ultimately contributed to his demise at Middlesbrough.

Sean Dyche was fired by the Clarets on Good Friday morning in 2022, with Boro manager Wilder emerging as the early favorite due to his outstanding performance since taking over at Boro six months earlier. When questioned about the connections later that day following a draw away at Bournemouth, Wilder provided a less-than-persuasive response, albeit his remarks did not entirely rule out a Boro leave.

Two days later, Boro would lose to Huddersfield at home, marking the beginning of a slide in performance under the former Sheffield United manager that would ultimately lead to Boro missing the play-offs that season and his eventual dismissal 11 games into the following campaign after just two victories.

Prior to Wilder killing the link and committing to Boro, speculation over Wilder’s future at the club lasted a little more than a week. Following an ultimatum from the team’s owner, Steve Gibson, Wilder appeared to toy with the possibility of joining the struggling Premier League team. Although Wilder would subsequently agree he handled the matter poorly, the damage had already been done for many of his fans. And as suspected in hindsight given the results that followed, it would appear that was the case within the club too.

“Really, it was the same for the fans and us [the players]. In an interview with talkSport journalist and Boro supporter Phil Spencer posted on his new Youtube channel, Bamba said, “We were all left wondering, ‘Why are you not killing it?'”

“To be honest, it wouldn’t be an issue if he wanted to leave. The desire to constantly improve oneself is shared by managers and players alike. Burnley was playing in the Premier League at the time. I believe that if he had decided to go, people would have accepted it.

“I believe the error he made was not being explicit when he stated, “I’m pleased here, I have a project, or “I want to go. We were all asking the same questions and discussing it amongst ourselves.

I was quite close to Chris, to be fair, and I had that conversation with him.

‘Sol, I’m like you and every gamer, I want to better myself,’ he said to me. Therefore, if it is best for me to depart, I will do so; otherwise, I will stay where I am. To be clear, he stated that to me but did not say it to the press, fans, or the board. That, in my opinion, was his first error.

“Following that, inquiries concerning him started to flow in. Is he a conceited man? Is he only interested in himself? something of the sort. After that, the players didn’t really have faith in him, and the results weren’t fantastic either. Just then, things began to get a little disorganized.

We had a young team at the time, and I recall that we lost a home game against Huddersfield. That was a pivotal moment. Following that, the players and I held a meeting. A number of the lads were extremely upset and demanded the coach state clearly whether he would be leaving or not.

“I recall people like Jonny Howson, Paddy McNair, and I saying, ‘It doesn’t matter,’ because we want to lift the team and reach the playoffs, regardless of whether the manager is present or not. Even though we were the older guys, I knew exactly why the other guys weren’t happy. I hate using it as an excuse, but it definitely had an impact on us missing out on the play-offs.”

Wilder’s flirtations were particularly annoying because he had led the club on such a successful run. During that time, he rallied support and spoke frequently about the journey he was taking, frequently cautioning players to either commit or go. When the opportunity arose for him to follow suit, he did neither.

The decision to retain with caretaker manager Mike Jackson after he led the team to three victories and a draw in his first four games in charge was made by Burnley’s owners, who ultimately decided that Wilder would stay. However, Boro would only triumph in two of their following seven games, falling short of a top-six finish on the last day.

After a poor start to the next season, he was sacked in early October, with Michael Carrick eventually picked as his successor.

Bamba said, “It was bad because I always say I like him – he was a decent man, first and foremost, and a good manager too. He left at the end of the 2021–22 season. But I believe he made a terrible error on that Burnley link, and I believe that was unquestionably the beginning of his demise. I usually say I dislike justifications, but our play-off failure and poor form had a 100 percent negative impact on us.

If I said I was surprised that things turned out the way it did in the end, I’d be lying. Some of the boys were quite dissatisfied with the way things were handled, so it was inevitable. I wasn’t prepared for the very poor results [at the start of the following season]. But I was aware that the season would be trying.

“Coming in the middle of the season is different. The players are pleased with the new training methods, you win games and gain confidence, and everything is good. However, once the preseason begins and you start bringing in your own players, getting rid of some of the older players who are dissatisfied, things immediately start to go sideways. Sadly, the gaffer eventually lost his job.