Former Sheffield United star on why the Premier League schedule is good news for his old club

“You play everyone twice,” he said, betraying the fact that professional sportspeople view these occasions very differently to fans. “Finishing places relate to what you do over the course of 46 matches. Not five or six at the beginning or over Christmas.”

It was easy to sympathise with his position when United were in the Championship. One of the big hitters in the division, they would always be expected to challenge for promotion. But as they prepare to re-enter the Premier League - a 38 game competition involving some of the biggest clubs on the planet - Paul Heckingbottom, his coaching staff, squad and supporters can be forgiven for pouring over the details of the 2023/24 programme, which was unveiled by chiefs at its headquarters in London today.

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“I think it’s a great start,” Paddy Kenny said, after learning his old team will begin it with a home game against Crystal Palace before visiting Nottingham Forest. “No disrespect, because they’ll be saying the same thing, but the lads will look at those first two and think they’ve got a good chance getting some points to set themselves up nicely."

Despite securing promotion in relatively comfortable fashion and not exactly being strangers to top-flight football, United, who have spent two of the last four campaigns operating at the highest level, will nevertheless have been hoping for a couple of favours from the PL’s planners. No outing is easy. But some are easier than others, even though Heckingbottom won’t admit so publicly for fear of motivating opponents.

So the first was avoiding a nightmare run of meetings against the likes of City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United right at the beginning of the latest calendar. Why? Because given that confidence will be such an issue for Heckingbottom and his charges, they’ll want to enter September with plenty of points on the board. That box, on paper at least, has been ticked although United face treble winners Manchester City after returning from the City Ground.

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“You don’t want to be chasing,” said Kenny, who made 34 PL appearances for United just over a decade-and-a-half ago. “That’s why the start is key. Seriously, one win a month should keep you up if you throw in a couple of draws. So I think the way they’ve come out, that’s good for United.”

“I genuinely think, especially if you’ve just come up, the schedule matters,” Kenny, the former goalkeeper, said. “You look for certain periods of the season you know are big."

Still, if events in the PL last term taught us anything, it is that it can be difficult to predict who will prosper and struggle. Chelsea, who United face in December before the return at Bramall Lane four months later, found themselves languishing in mid-table despite spending £600m on fresh talent. Meanwhile, Brighton and Hove Albion qualified for Europe alongside Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. When he was appointed in October, the Spaniard’s brief was to save them from relegation.

Yorkshire’s only representatives in the PL following Leeds’ relegation, United’s campaign highlights, Kenny insisted, depend on who individual fans and the players themselves also like.

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“Different people might follow different teams, so it all changes,” he said, having also tasted life at the highest level with Queens Park Rangers. “The thing is, here, every single game is really big.”

But while they will always back themselves to win, it is arguably clashes with the likes of fellow newly promoted clubs Burnley and Luton Town, plus dates against Forest, Everton and others who only just won their respective battles for survival last term.

“You do view certain matches as being the defining ones,” Kenny continued. “You back yourself to win them all but you know in some, your chances are much higher. Sometimes the wins come when you least expect them but, when the fixtures come out, that’s how you view it.”

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United’s most recent experiences of the PL have been a mixed bag. Having gone up in 2019, they came ninth 11 months later and would probably have qualified for Europe had the Covid-19 pandemic not interrupted their momentum. The season after they struggled badly and returned to the EFL having seen their fate sealed in April with six matches to spare. Chris Wilder, whose side captured the hearts and minds of the nation with their brave, front foot football, had already departed by the time United were condemned to the drop. Placed in temporary charge before later being handed the role on a permanent basis following an unsuccessful experiment with Slavisa Jokanovic, Heckingbottom will have learnt plenty from that time as a caretaker. One of the lessons, after recently acknowledging he inherited a group of players totally devoid of self-belief, is the importance of a solid start. United did not win a game until January that year, which meant they were almost certain to go down when Heckingbottom stepped into the breach two months later. The year before, United won three and drew four of their opening 10 matches. That gave them a platform to build upon and convinced players they belonged.

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The 10 game mark is, by popular opinion, when the table begins to take shape - suggesting who will push for the title and who could be in trouble. As well as City, United also face Newcastle, Manchester United and Arsenal before reaching this landmark. Last term, two of those who were eventually relegated found themselves in the bottom three at that point. The other, Forest, dragged themselves up to 16th.

United end the campaign with another home match, this time against Tottenham Hotspur.

“Starting and ending at home, although hopefully they’ll be safe by then, is great,” said Kenny. “You’d look at Palace and Spurs away a little bit differently.”