Rhian Brewster: Steel City Derby Debrief

The Star, Sheffield

Transcript

00:00Danny, we are 24 hours after the Steve City Derby and there is a new hero, and one very

00:09popular hero as well, Rhian Brewster scored a winning goal at Hillsborough and given everything

00:16that's gone on in Rhian Brewster's Sheffield United career, as I say, there can't have

00:21been a much more popular match winner than him.

00:25No, absolutely, I said this to Chris Wilder afterwards, I said if you could pull those

00:292,500-3,000 fans in the away end before the game and say, listen, you're going to win

00:33this game 1-0, who do you want to be the person who scored the goal? I reckon a large percentage

00:38would say Rhian. I was delighted to see the goal go in, obviously, but then to see that

00:44it was him wheeling away in front of the Kop, it was a brilliant feeling because, like you

00:48say, he's been through a horrible time with it. I feel a little bit for him because he

00:54came with such a big reputation, didn't he? He was lauded as the record signing at the

01:00time and Chris Wilder says he was the best number nine, best young number nine of his

01:04age in the country and everyone expected so much from him. A tough first year in the Premier

01:09League with COVID and then his time with injuries, it's just been really, really tough. United

01:15have not seen the best of him by any stretch. He's just not had the games, he's just not

01:20had the consistent football to really show what he's about. It's been really frustrating

01:26for him, it's been really frustrating for Chris Wilder and for the club as a whole because

01:30he spent a lot of money on him, let's be fair. It was a decent fee at the time and they've

01:35just not had the return from it. It's hard to blame Rhian for that because the kid doesn't

01:39want to be on the treatment table at Shirecliffe, does he? He doesn't want to go through serious

01:43hamstring problems. He wants to be showing the form that made him one of the best young

01:49number nines in the country, the golden boy in the World Cup win. He's got pedigree and

01:54he's just not been able to show that. Such a popular kid, really, really well liked behind

02:00the scenes. It's great with us when we get to speak with him. Just to see him with a

02:04smile on his face again, you get a bit sentimental at times around football, but then to see

02:09him walking around the place with a smile on his face was really good. Hopefully this

02:15is not the peak for him because he's talked about a new contract for him for next season

02:20because his current one runs out in the summer. Chris Wilder's keen to keep him there and

02:25I think if they can keep him here and keep him injury free and get him on the pitch consistently

02:31because he's shown what he can do. Yesterday he was playing for number 10, which is a slightly

02:36unfamiliar position for him, but he still got in that position to score. It was a good

02:42cross from Tyreese directed into his path, but he was still in the position to tap it

02:46in. You can only imagine what the feeling would have been like for him in front of the

02:51Kop at a time like that in such a big game. Absolutely delighted that it was him that

02:57got it and hopefully he can kick on from here and it's not the peak, or if there's more

03:03peaks to come in the future.

03:06I would imagine if you pulled, I don't know why I keep pulling Sheffield United fans in,

03:12but if you were to pull Sheffield United fans, I would imagine it would be a fairly even

03:18split between whether or not he should or shouldn't have a new contract. It would certainly

03:26be pretty tight. What does he need to do now to try and win over those who think he's had

03:33a lot of chances and maybe it's time to let them go?

03:36I think it's just, again it sounds really simplistic, just play football. You've seen

03:40that he's out there, you've seen what he can do, he absolutely loves it here as well.

03:44You can see that in his performances, he puts everything into it. He's not a player who's

03:48just content to see how the game pans out. He wants to get involved, he puts himself

03:52about. I think he's just getting out there and contributing to the team. We saw on Tuesday

03:57night he set up a goal for Tyreese, didn't he? He's got that bit of quality in his boots,

04:03he can set up goals as well as score them. I think it's just getting out there and being

04:07available and showing that he's part of it and he is still about and he is a decent player.

04:14I'm not saying he has to score X amount of goals because he's now at the end of the season.

04:17I think it's more just an availability issue or an availability point of view as to whether

04:23he gets a new deal or not, or whether he should get a new deal or not. Firstly I'd keep him

04:26around just for that, what he can do. But he does have to answer the availability question,

04:32I get that. There will be people out there who are saying he's not been playing enough

04:37to justify it. I understand that point of view. But I think there's still a player in there.

04:43You forget how young he is, he seems to have been around forever. He came when he was 20,

04:47I think he'll be 24 now, 25 soon. He's still got a hell of a lot of football to play there.

04:52He's still learning, he's still quite a young man. He's transformed into a bit of a leader

04:58there. He's in the leadership group at Bramble Lane, he's the middle person in that. He's part

05:03of the senior leadership group that Chris Wilder has in the dressing room. He's thought of really

05:08highly there. But on the opposite point, there's only so much you can do off the pitch. You have

05:14to show it on the pitch as well. He'll just be determined to stay fit the rest of the season,

05:20contribute where he can. Don't forget Tyrese Campbell is probably ahead of him in the pecking

05:24order. Calum O'Hare is probably ahead of him in the pecking order normally for the number 10 role.

05:28He's just got to be available when he's needed,

05:31play where he can, fit in where he can and contribute to hopefully another promotion.

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