Leon Clarke shoots against Preston

HRH Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Kevin McCabe both launched attempts to take sole control of the club earlier this term after their partnership, which was established in 2013, broke down.

Having first addressed the matter before this afternoon's game against Preston North End, United's manager again acknowledged the uncertainty and lack of "direction" is making it impossible to plan for the 2018/19 Championship campaign.

Sign up to our daily newsletter The i newsletter cut through the noise Sign up Thanks for signing up! Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting...

And, in a fresh development, he insisted people "could not blame" him for questioning if it is possible to continue working in such an environment.

"It's 100 per cent critical it gets resolved," Wilder, speaking after his side's 1-0 defeat by Alex Neil's side, acknowledged. "I can't do my job properly unless there is direction and a decision from the owners. Any club that wants to be successful has to have harmony and a direction. There isn't that here at the moment."

"It needs to happen soon," he added. "And it needs to happen quick."

A clearly emotional Wilder told reporters his concerns related to the ambiguity surrounding United's off-the-pitch affairs, not a lack of finance, during the post-match media conference.

Leon Clarke shoots against Preston

"I really shouldn't be talking about this," Wilder continued. "But it seems I am. I'll always be honest and if people don't like that then they'll have to deal with it. I walked through the front door with my head held high and I'll walk out the front door with my head held high."

"I've worked extremely hard to get to this position," he added. "I believe in the ability of myself, of Alan (Knill, his assistant) and my staff. But I'm the only one who is talks to you guys (the media) about it. I'll always be honest. That's the way is has to be because it's my club and it's my city. It's a club that is close to my heart."