Sheffield United can "choke the life" out of the top two race as they get set for Middlesbrough

But speaking ahead of a match which pits second versus third in the Championship table, Heckingbottom insisted the contest with Carrick’s men is no more important than United’s games against Millwall and Watford which follow this week’s clash.

United preserved their 10 point advantage over Middlesbrough when they beat Swansea City 3-0 thanks to goals from Sander Berge, Jack Robinson and substitute Oli McBurnie.

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Despite that lead, Heckingbottom is still refusing to engage in conversations about a possible return to the Premier League, although he did acknowledge: “Yes, we can do a lot of damage to them. But even if we win, we can’t get complacent because we’ve got Millwall and Watford coming up which are also huge games. They’re all huge games from here on in, every single one of them.”

“Middlesbrough is no bigger than Millwall,” Heckingbottom added. “Boro will go for it, they’ll see this as a big opportunity and we want it to be billed as a big game, which it will be. We understand that. But we are also chasing a points total and there is still so much football to be played.”

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United stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to 13 following their victory over Swansea. Middlesbrough are also in fine form, winning 10 of their last 13 and losing the other three. They triumphed 3-1 at Cardiff City while United were beating the visitors’ from south Wales.

“The only thing that changes is the belief in other people and what’s being talked about by them,” Heckingbottom said. “We have 16 matches left and every single one of them is big. Boro, Millwall, Watford and all the rest.

“What we have spoken about is the better we do, the more we can choke the life out of other teams.

“Everything else, all the talk, we keep totally separate. All we focus on is the next game in front of us. Nothing else.”

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