Sheffield United’s pre-season defeat at non-league Scunthorpe United this afternoon was a “reminder” of the standards boss Paul Heckingbottom and his coaching staff expect from his players.

United went 3-0 down before the break, with Colin Daniel notching twice and Alfie Beestin adding another for the National League hosts.

And although United staged a late fightback with goals from substitutes Rhian Brewster and Iliman Ndiaye, a first defeat of pre-season didn’t go down well with the manager.

"In terms of minutes we wanted some boys right up there,” Heckingbottom said. “Max Lowe played 90 and it'll be the reverse on Tuesday [at Mansfield].

"It’s a reminder of how we have to be, pre-season or not. We want to be successful in the season and when you’re not 100 per cent at it, you come unstuck.

"The goals we conceded were bad from our point of view so we’ll use it as a reminder of what we're about and how we want to play.”