Sheffield United: The sacrifices being made to try and reach the Premier League

After hauling themselves into play-off contention, Saturday’s game against Swansea City will be United’s fifth outing this month after Covid-19 wreaked havoc with the fixture schedule over the Christmas and New Year period.

Having been forced to rearrange meetings with Preston North End, Middlesbrough, Queens Park Rangers and Hull City, who held them to a goalless draw at Bramall Lane earlier this week, United will be forced to contest a match every 3.6 days between now and March 16th’s visit to Blackpool.

But Heckingbottom told The Star: “I don’t want to make a big thing of it. We are living with each other every single day. But there are times when you have to make sacrifices and push if you want to achieve something.”

“It’s not just the players,” the United manager continued. “It’s the staff and everyone else here as well - the analysts, the medical people, the people who work at the training ground.

“The staff, all of us, we are on this roll as well. Because of the preparation that we put into games, because of all the work that gets done, we are living in each other’s pockets. But it’s not a big deal, just something that has to be done.”

Heckingbottom, whose side are eighth in the table, has been asked repeatedly of late if the fixture schedule will eventually take its toll. Strikers Rhian Brewster and David McGoldrick have both suffered injuries since the turn of the year and, although Heckingbottom does not blame the calendar for either, he accepts they limit United’s ability to rotate a squad which he maintains is strong enough to cope.

MORE: https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/frustrated-united-fall-into-hull-citys-traps-3570196

“Listen, as a player you want to actually be playing,” Heckingbottom said. “You’d much rather be playing than training, even though we do try and make it enjoyable. You don’t get 27,000 or 28,000 people cheering you on at training do you. It’s not the same as a game.”