Paul Heckingbottom opens up on "challenge" of Sheffield United job as he hits significant milestone

Two years ago today, Paul Heckingbottom's reign at Sheffield United got off to a perfect start with victory in his first game in permanent charge. The short-lived Slavisa Jokanovic experiment had come to a sudden and expensive end days earlier and Heckingbottom, who had impressed with the difficult task of stepping in as caretaker boss during the death throes of the previous relegation season, got the call to step up again from the U23s.

Goals from Rhian Brewster and Billy Sharp, on November 28, 2021, sealed a 2-0 victory over Bristol City at Bramall Lane and United won eight and drew three of their next 12 league games, laying the foundations for an unlikely play-off tilt that only ended in a cruel penalty shootout defeat in the second leg at Nottingham Forest's City Ground. Less than a year later, amid a backdrop of financial instability and continuous speculation over a change of ownership, United went one better as Heckingbottom led them to automatic promotion back to the Premier League.

This season so far has been infinitely more challenging, with the prospect of establishing the Blades in the Premier League made even more difficult by some key summer departures and a permanent budget dwarfed by most of their top-flight rivals. Little wonder he admits it would be his greatest achievement in management if he does keep the Blades up.

After making officially the worst start in Premier League history after 10 games, breaking their own 2020/21 record with a poorer goal difference, United had threatened to turn a corner in their survival bid with four points from their two games before the international break. But Saturday's sorry home defeat to rivals Bournemouth has seen pressure intensify on Heckingbottom once again. But speaking ahead of that Cherries defeat, Heckingbottom described his time in charge as "great" and admitted he has "loved every bit of it".

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"The bits we talk about are just a small fraction of the job, really," he added. "There's a lot more involved with it. I've said many a time, the challenge of the job is great and Saturday afternoons, being with the players, is the bit I enjoy the most.

"You speak to football managers about the job, and what it is, and you understand when they're describing something and you can put yourself in that position because there are not many jobs like it. It's been a great two years, and I'd like this year to be great as well. But we've got a lot of work to do. A lot of work to do."

By his own admission Heckingbottom is at home coaching players on, as he calls it, "the grass" and, one suspects, would be infinitely happier if he could do that more often, rather than spend time speaking to journalists or negotiating transfer budgets with his board. He also handled himself with the utmost class and decorum as the de facto spokesperson for the club last season, fielding questions on a weekly basis about a transfer embargo, takeovers and other matters well outside his remit.

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He has certainly crammed a lot in two years, experience that could subconsciously alter the personality of even the most strong-willed football folk. "It's not changed me," Heckingbottom, now the 19th longest-serving manager of the 92 league clubs, insisted. "I've got better at certain things and maybe worse at others, I don't know. It's been all-encompassing, these two years.

"I've been involved in so many things which, in a certain way, has been good; to have that dialogue with the owners and that influence. But with it comes a lot more work and I've had to make sure I don't spread myself too thin. And I have done on occasions, without a doubt.

"You can get involved in so many things because you know it's the right thing to do, to help the club, and then you're not as good at other things. That's probably been the challenge, and I've no doubt that will continue to be the challenge. But I wouldn't change anything."