Paul Heckingbottom's verdict on Sheffield United survival hopes as former boss details "fragile" mentality

Paul Heckingbottom, the former Sheffield United manager, has admitted he is not "surprised" at his old side's position at the bottom of the Premier League table despite insisting he hopes they can win their "tough" battle against relegation this season. Heckingbottom led United into the top-flight last season but was sacked back in December after a 5-0 defeat away at relegation rivals Burnley.

Wilder's predecessor Chris Wilder subsequently made an emotional return to Bramall Lane but United remain bottom of the table with 12 games left and are 11 points adrift of fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest - effectively a dozen when their terrible goal difference is taken into account. It has been a season of struggle for the Blades after the positivity of last season, with Heckingbottom pointing to the summer departures of key men Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye as pivotal moments which left the mentality of United's group "fragile".

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Speaking on Talksport this morning Heckingbottom was asked if he was surprised at United's position in the table. "No," he replied, "and this is not a sob story but there are factors behind it. We sold players towards the start of the season and didn't recruit until the end of the window. I saw the first few games as opportunities to win but we were playing with Chris Basham and Ollie Norwood as our midfield two and had Will Osula at 19 making his debut up front and Benie Traore, fresh in from Sweden.

"That was our team and from the bench we were bringing on academy players. That was it for the first few games. Add to it the nature of how we lost the players and the mentality of the group, they were fragile. They were fragile. And that was the toughest bit. You've still got to go and compete and make sure that the players believe they could compete as well.

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"Then we signed a few good players towards the end of the window and there was a lift. The first game we played our team was Spurs away. McAtee was in, Cam Archer, Vini Souza, Gus Hamer, and we conceded two late, late, late goals [in the 98th and 100th minutes] to lose. That was a blow, I'm not going to lie. You could feel the deflation. It was a blow. But we kept competing and competing and competing but the hardest thing when the results aren't coming is the belief and the mentality."

While last season's promotion team had such a clear way of playing, losing Berge and Ndiaye - as well as the likes of loanee Tommy Doyle and club legend Billy Sharp - meant that Heckingbottom had to alter United's identity whilst constructing a squad capable of competing in the toughest league in world football on a limited £20m budget.

"In some games in the Championship we relied on experience, kept a clean sheet and won the game 1-0," Heckingbottom said. "Then we lost John Egan and Chris Basham to season-long injuries and Tom Davies when he was going to start, within the space of a week. I was thinking: 'This is how we might have to approach the season, sit back and defend and be deep and try and play on the counter with the pace we signed', but then you lose the experience to play in that way. There were lots of factors but it would have still been an uphill challenge."

"I've not spoken to him since he's gone in," added Heckingbottom of Wilder. "I want the club to do well and stay up. But it's looking tough."