Sheffield United boss proves laughable doubters wrong again as star reveals success secrets

Of all the men to take charge of Sheffield United on a permanent basis in the club’s long and illustrious history, not one can boast a better win percentage than Paul Heckingbottom.

After coming within a penalty shootout of a remarkable play-off final at Wembley last season, having inherited a United side floundering in the Championship table and seemingly going absolutely nowhere, Heckingbottom and his staff have continued in the same vein this time around.

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United go into the international break second in the Championship table, with a game in hand over nearest challengers Middlesbrough, and in the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 2014. No side from outside the Premier League has got this far in eight seasons, and Heckingbottom’s men will take on the mighty Manchester City next month as they bid for a first FA Cup final since 1936.

Against that backdrop it seems remarkable that even this month, a section of United’s fanbase were calling for the manager to lose his job. Never mind United’s performance this season, or even the fact he is under contract until 2026. Never mind the challenges he has had to contend with, from a transfer embargo to an ongoing takeover attempt and one permanent signing during his whole time in charge.

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Heckingbottom, as an intelligent and thoroughly decent bloke, probably understands the criticism even when many don’t. He has been in football long enough to know that it is part of the territory. But that doesn’t make it okay, or correct. It’s easy sometimes to forget the state United were in when he accepted the invitation to take over on a full-time basis. Sure, there was quality in that squad. But belief and confidence, on the back of relegation and a poor start under Slavisa Jokanovic, was on the floor.

“Hecky’s been great,” said striker Oli McBurnie, a player showing surely his best form in a United shirt this season. “Everyone knows what Chris Wilder did for this club, taking them from League One to the Prem with largely the same squad.

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“When he left it was a big change and with the first manager [Jokanovic], they didn’t get right in terms of the style of the club. When Hecky came back he reinstalled a lot of the things we were good at before and that made us so successful.

“Last year, if Hecky had been here from the start we might have gone up automatically last season. We probably left it just a bit too late. We’ve done a lot better this year, started how we wanted to, and put ourselves in a great position going into the last period of games.”

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Going into April, when United next play, Heckingbottom’s men are still fighting for glory on two fronts. Whatever happens, they couldn’t wish to be in better hands.