Concerns about Sheffield United training pitch prompt manager to take drastic step

Having seen wing-backs George Baldock and Enda Stevens miss last weekend’s victory over Stoke City because of problems sustained during his squad’s preparations for the game, Heckingbottom revealed reports the Randox Health Academy’s new playing surface is now fully operational were exaggerated.

With United still unable to use the pitch on a regular basis, coaching staff fear the inclement January weather could lead to more senior players being sidelined during a critical phase of the campaign. That has prompted Heckingbottom, who admitted he must control his emotions after growing increasingly frustrated by the situation, to commission an investigation into how he can best safeguard against further casualties until the situation is rectified.

Although the 45-year-old insisted the fitness issues United suffered at the beginning of the season were the result of bad fortune rather than anything systemically wrong behind the scenes, he told The Star the situation has now changed, saying: “It’s a sign of where we’re at. The ones we had at the start were twists, contacts and breaks. We couldn’t do a lot about that and, credit to everyone, they came through it to put themselves in a really strong position. But this (Baldock and Stevens) is the first sign of what potentially might happen.

“I know I’ll get angry and frustrated and disappointed. So I have to manage myself as well as everyone else. But until we get that pitch up and running, the weather is going to cause issues because it isn’t fit for purpose at the minute.”

“We want a proper one (pitch),” Heckingbottom added. “Sometimes, when we’ve not been able to get on it, it’s been slippy and bobbly. Now we can go on the artificial one indoors there but the change in surface, because that’s so hard, can lead to things like this. It’s what we’re seeing now.”

The new surface, which is designed to replicate the one United compete on at Bramall Lane, was initially supposed to be ready in time for their return to action in August. But a series of delays, thought to have been caused by budgetary constraints, meant the work was not completed until just before Christmas with the undersoil heating laid beneath only just being switched on.

“The undersoil is on now,” Heckingbottom explained. “So now it’s a case of the grass growing and the roots binding into the stitching that goes below it. The more that happens, the more playable it becomes. It’s okay at the moment for moving the ball. But in terms of twisting and turning, we just don’t trust it right now.”

After initially attempting to downplay the issue, Heckingbottom’s decision to speak publicly about it now is a sign he is growing increasingly annoyed by what he perceives as an entirely avoidable obstacle being placed in his team’s path towards promotion. United began their preparations for Friday’s home game against Hull City ranked second in the Championship table and 11 points clear of third placed Watford. But with the leading goalscorer Iliman Ndiaye limping-out of last weekend’s win over Stoke, Heckingbottom’s attacking options suddenly appear perilously slim. If the Senegal international fails to recover in time, that could prompt United to not only revise their decision to grant Oli McBurnie time to completely recover from the ankle damage which has forced him to watch the meeting with Alex Neil’s side from the stands but also their training schedule.

“Maybe I’ll have to change the training programme until we get the pitch up and running,” Heckingbottom said. “We’ll see what needs to happen and be done and we’ll do what’s required.”

With on-loan defender Ciaran Clark and midfielder John Fleck also hopefully of being eased back into the fold shortly, Heckingbottom added: “My concern is, at the moment, we’re on the academy pitches at the top (of the complex). I’ve challenged the medical team to come up with a plan that’s going to protect our players. It’s not their fault, what’s happening, but they can hopefully help us deal with it.

“I know how it affected our players last season, when there was a change in the weather.”

Heckingbottom’s determination to discover a fix for the problem is expected to prompt a series of discussions later this week, where the physiotherapists and conditioners employed by United present their findings. Unbeaten in eight outings in all competitions, the conclusions drawn could decide whether or not Heckingbottom’s men seize the opportunity they are now presented with or are dragged back into a fight for automatic promotion.

“Until we reach a game where things are mathematically certain,” he said. “Then it (the gap) doesn’t mean anything. We just carry on focusing on the next game and trying to win that, trying to take care of ourselves and controlling what we can control. People might get close (to us) because that’s what this division is like, you just never know and you can’t take anything for granted.”

“What I do know is that we’ll continue to do everything within our power to try and make sure we get to where we want to be,” Heckingbottom added. “But it’s not over. Not at all. There’s still a lot of work to do and a lot of football to be played.”