Paul Heckingbottom’s demand of Sheffield United players as survival bid continues at Fulham

Paul Heckingbottom has called on all of Sheffield United’s players to step up and fill the leadership void created by the departure of so many senior players over the summer. United released long-time servents including Billy Sharp, Enda Stevens and Jack O’Connell at the end of the season, while influential loanees Ciaran Clark and Tommy Doyle returned to their parent clubs.

The Blades instead went in a different direction in a bid to replace what they had lost, expanding their transfer search to all corners of the globe in a bid to sign young and undervalued, but also largely unproven, players. Some of them, including the likes of Benie Traore and Yasser Larouci, are still finding their feet in English football while others, like Gus Hamer and Cameron Archer, got off the mark early in their Blades careers after arriving at Bramall Lane.

Strikers Oli McBurnie and Rhian Brewster, 27 and 23 years old respectively, are now amongst the senior players in the squad after the average age was lowered, with Heckingbottom keen to ensure that all his charges help to fill the void left behind by Sharp and Co. “Yeah, we want everyone to step up,” said Heckingbottom ahead of this weekend’s trip to Fulham.

“It’s been one of the big changes. We lost seven players from a promotion-winning squad and all bar one contributed heavily on the pitch. And the one that didn’t [the injured O’Connell] contributed heavily off it. Good personalities. Whilst all the positives we’ve done, we’ve lowered the age of the squad which was significant and have a lot more tied down to stave off future problems but in the short term we’ve missed big players and big personalities. So everyone has got a role to fill that, with big shoes to fill.

Brewster determined to repay United fans by helping Blades to safety

“While we’ve signed a lot of new players and they’re finding their feet, at our club and the football club, we’ve also used a lot from the academy so they’re not going to be the most vocal. That’s going to take time. We’ve got one or two who have come and already achieved a lot and played a lot of games and I don’t think it’s any coincidence they’ve been in and around the XI. So that’s something else that’s a big focus for us, I think, throughout the season. Of course it’s about getting points but it’s also getting everyone to grow into this football club and the level that we’re at.”

Brewster’s ascension to senior player status - the former Liverpool man now put on the ‘old’ team against the younger members of the Blades squad in training - proves that leadership ability is not just defined by age. “Everyone can do it, 100 per cent,” agreed Heckingbottom. “You have to have a confidence to be that and from our point of view as coaches we have to make sure certain messages are really clear and simple.

“There’s no right or wrong way to play the game; everyone will have an opinion on it, and that’s fine. We have to be really clear on us and what we are, so everyone’s on the same page. And then when you’re encouraging people to lead and be more vocal, the messages they’re giving are really important ones and specific to us.”