Sheffield United: Ditching "front foot" approach would be a grave mistake
Sheffield United will resist calls to adopt a more conservative approach towards their upcoming games after Paul Heckingbottom, the promotion hopefuls’ manager, insisted it would render a key weapon in his squad’s armoury impotent.
With injuries and individual errors proving major headaches behind the scenes at Bramall Lane, United are preparing for this weekend’s visit to West Bromwich Albion ranked fifth despite entering the recent international break in first.
The sight of a previously well-disciplined and miserly team conceding six goals in its last three outings has prompted some observers to insist United must now abandon the “front foot” strategy which proved so successful at the beginning of the campaign.
But Heckingbottom has appeared to rule out the idea, insisting he remains convinced that being aggressive rather than attempting to exploit counter-attacking opportunities best suits the personality of both his squad and its supporters.
Reflecting upon United’s most recent performance - which saw them come from 2-0 down to draw with Norwich City - Heckingbottom said: “I’ve spoken about this before, but emotion really is the most important aspect of football. It’s what changes games, it’s what wins them and it what makes the biggest difference, not statistics.
“Everyone gets wrapped up in those. Yes, we look at them and yes, they can tell you some interesting things that you need to use. But they’re not the be all and end all and they’ve got to be used in context.
“There were times towards the end of that (game against Norwich) when we were a little bit too open and we took some risks. But that was my doing, because I wanted the lads to go for it and so that’s why we took them, because the emotion of the game demanded that was the thing to do - not only because of how the match was going but also because the crowd were playing such a big part in it.”
More than 30,000 supporters watched United do battle with Dean Smith’s side and they were expected to enjoy another huge following at The Hawthorns, where former Huddersfield Town chief Carlos Corberan is set to take charge for the first time after being identified as Albion’s preferred choice to replace Steve Bruce.
Despite being ready to take full responsibility should encouraging United to operate on their wits proves to be a mistake, there is one instance when Heckingbottom has urged them to show cooler heads.
“We want the first goal, always,” he continued. “But against Norwich, when we went behind early, we were taking too many unnecessary risks early on. There was still most of the game to go and we allowed them to pass out. As things went on, we locked them down much better and that made a big difference.”
After taking three points from their last six assignments, United hope to return to winning ways when they travel to the Midlands.
“There’s not been a big downturn (in performances) from then (the start of the season) to now,” Heckingbottom insisted. “Fine margins, small margins, is the difference.”
