Sheffield United are told the secret to success against Swansea City

Second in the Championship table and 10 points clear of third placed Middlesbrough, who travel to Bramall Lane next week, United could take another important step towards winning promotion from the Championship if they beat Russell Martin’s side.

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With City expected to attempt to dominate possession - something Martin’s approach revolves around - Heckingbottom said: “Swansea like to see a lot of the ball. We can’t get frustrated by it. Instead, what you do is try and use that to your advantage. In a lot of their games, they’ve been able to frustrate opponents into losing their composure. We respect what a good side they are, but we need to keep our composure.”

City’s possession average is the second highest in the division this season (63) with only leaders Burnley (66.3) enjoying more. United have so far returned a figure of 55.2 percent, but stand 11 places higher in the rankings. Intriguingly, Heckingbottom’s men shared it 50/50 with City when they travelled to south Wales earlier this term. Reda Khadra, now of Birmingham City, scored a 94th minute winner during that game.

Explaining he does not want United to simply surrender the ball to City, Heckingbottom said: “We’ve been able to impose ourselves on them in the past, either by actually having more of the ball than them or engineering the positions where we win it back.”

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