Sheffield United keen to avoid Nottingham Forest pitch invasion repeat if promotion sealed

Paul Heckingbottom has appealed to Sheffield United’s supporters to stay off the pitch if their side seal promotion to the Premier League during their next two home games at Bramall Lane.

The Blades boss pointed to the example of skipper Billy Sharp being attacked by a Nottingham Forest fan who ran on to the playing surface at the City Ground last season after his side’s play-off victory over United on penalties, and admitted he would be “devastated” if any similar scenes occured in the upcoming games against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday and Preston North End on Saturday.

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Heckingbottom is first of all keen to avoid taking victory over Albion for granted, with the Baggies travelling to Bramall Lane looking to get into the play-offs and possessing a squad packed with talent.

“If you want to motivate a team who are going for the play-offs, then talk about what will happen if we beat them,” Heckingbottom said.

“To beat them we need to be at our very, very best. They’re a strong team with some good individuals.

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“But it’s a criminal offence to go on the pitch and if we can keep everyone on the pitch and things go the way we want them to, we’ll make sure we spend as much time as possible with all the fans who want to stay behind and see us.

“With the number of incidents we’ve seen, I would be devastated if anything happened. With what the group have been through and what we’ve been through and Bill and the City Ground. I’d hate if we were involved in any more stories.

“It happens but incidents have got worse and when do we say enough’s enough? Do we wait until it’s something disastrous? We have to do everything we can to stop it and make sure it is what it should be; a celebration. We were involved in something nasty which had further consequences which were out of order and we don’t want to be seeing that again.”

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The Forest fan who assaulted Sharp was later jailed for six months and there was further fall-out when Oli McBurnie faced an assault trial following an incident involving a Forest supporter after the final whistle. McBurnie was later cleared of the charge after a trial at Nottingham magistrates court.

“For me the fans don't realise how big and important they're going to be in any fixture,” Heckingbottom added. “There's been a narrative about us having this or that and that's been reflected in the expectation.

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“But believe me, this league is tough at the best of times. We haven't had what other managers have said we have; we're a tough group who fight for everything. We've had to fight for every point and every goal and every place in the league.

“Having the fans on your side and backing you helps massively and if we achieve what we want to achieve, things become even tougher. So they become more important. It's important to celebrate victories and if we can achieve the ultimate goal, I just think it'd be really special if everyone's together.”

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