'He's a good player, simple' - Why Iliman Ndiaye was handed his Sheffield United debut

Ndiaye, aged 20, came on as a substitute towards the end of a 5-0 defeat which saw United make the worst possible start to life without former manager Chris Wilder.

Heckingbottom, who is scheduled to remain in caretaker charge until May, was handed responsibility for first team affairs when Wilder’s departure was officially confirmed less than 24 hours before United’s visit to the KP Stadium.

Having initially joined the club to coach their under-23’s team, Heckingbottom said: “I’ve had no instructions regarding picking the team. Iliman is a good player, simple, and that’s why he got on the pitch. I’m comfortable picking the team and not picking people who aren’t doing the job and picking people who are. That’s my aim and that’s why Iliman got out there, because he’s been doing well and doing the right things.”

In the statement announcing Wilder’s exit, United’s hierarchy described increasing the flow of talent through Bramall Lane’s age groups as one of their long-term ambitions.

“There’s no instructions in terms of what I have to do or what I haven’t regarding the team,” Heckingbottom said. “The players can set the standards now and say where they want to be and where they want to go from here. We need to recover and we need to pick them up.”