Sheffield United: Championship leaders could expand their coaching staff - and this is why
Sheffield United are still exploring the possibility of appointing a specialist defensive coach, manager Paul Heckingbottom has confirmed, after detailing his assistants Stuart McCall and Jack Lester to work with their midfielders and strikers.
Heckingbottom, whose side enters tomorrow’s game against Birmingham City three points clear at the top of the table, combines organising specialist sessions for the club’s rearguard with his overall responsibilities to the squad as a whole.
Speaking earlier this term, Heckingbottom, a former full-back, admitted he could expand his coaching staff by handing the task of providing individual tuition for the likes of John Egan and Chris Bashsm to someone else.
Asked if that was still on the agenda, Heckingbottom said: “Yes, it is something I’m bothered about because it would mean less work for me. But joking aside, it could be something we’d look at as there’s definitely enough work here to justify doing that.”
McCall was a midfielder during his own playing days, representing clubs including Rangers, Everton and United as well as being capped by Scotland at international level. Lester, a former striker, also enjoyed a spell in the books at United before becoming a coach.
“You’ve got to be careful, because you don’t want the messages from the staff becoming too diluted,” Heckingbottom said. “That’s why, as long as we’re here, we’ll never have as many staff as some other clubs because I don’t like it. I don’t think, personally, it’s always helpful to have too many voices.
“But in terms of that, a defensive coach, I think it’s worth looking at. There’s no rush, though, because things are working well at the moment.”
