Sheffield United: Everything promotion hopefuls will be doing during the World Cup break

It was designed to help draft a schedule for the next three weeks or so, before the preparations for next month’s game against Huddersfield Town begin in earnest. Although attendance wasn’t obligatory for all, it is a measure of the importance Heckingbottom and his assistants Stuart McCall and Jack Lester have attributed to this period that pretty much everyone with even a scintilla of seniority decided to shoehorn themselves into the room which had been booked for the event.

“It’s not a pre-season,” Heckingbottom told The Star, when asked to describe United’s timetable during the tournament in Qatar. “That’s not how we want anyone to look at it and that’s not what it’s going to be either. It’s different, totally different, to what things would be like over the summer.”

Although Iliman Ndiaye and Adam Davies travelled to the Middle East following Saturday’s win over Cardiff City, after being selected for the tournament by Senegal and Wales respectively, the majority of United’s squad has remained at Shirecliffe ahead of the meeting with Mark Fotheringham’s side. A smattering could be asked to take part in international friendlies, such as the Republic of Ireland’s John Egan. But Heckingbottom has privately been petitioning for others to be overlooked, stressing that several of those who could be eligible for call-ups were carrying knocks during the visit to City.

So what does United’s timetable for this period look like? Is the emphasis on rest and relaxation or fine-tuning the strategies and tactics which saw them finish the latest round of fixtures in second, three points behind leaders Burnley? The answer, Heckingbottom explained after being invited to put a little more flesh on the bones, is a combination of both.

“We’ve got a little bit of time away for everyone, to unwind and then get ready,” he said. “The boys will all have a week off, well most of them anyway, and I’ve encouraged them to spend time with their families and friends - to totally, in a mental sense, switch off from football. That’s something, if the opportunity is there, that we’d like them to do.

“Obviously that’s not going to be possible for everyone, including some of those lads who are getting treatment for injuries. But the biggest thing for me, from my perspective, is that we freshen everyone up and then get ready to go again.

“We still need to be working, though. So after the breaks that some of them will have, then it will be back into it.”

Although he insisted events following the last pause in the domestic programme, when United dropped from first to fourth in the rankings, had not influenced his thinking on how to approach this period, it is unfathomable that someone as meticulous and detail-obsessed as Heckingbottom would refuse to review it for possible mistakes.

“If someone isn’t going away, and it’s important to remember that not everyone’s circumstances are the same in terms of their fitness either, then there will be people still here,” he continued. “If they’re following a certain programme, then there will be staff here to help them. Different individuals might feel they require slightly different things, and we’ve kept that in mind.”

United had investigated the possibility of travelling abroad, with Heckingbottom raising the possibility of staging a week long warm weather training camp during interviews with journalists in September. However, that idea has now been shelved. Instead, when United’s players report back for duty, a number of behind closed doors friendlies have been arranged. Heckingbottom refused to reveal any details of those when pressed on the matter ahead of the trip to the Welsh capital. But he did confirm that some of those will be taking place at neutral or opposition venues.

“We need to get time and minutes into some of those lads who haven’t been playing,” said Heckingbottom, as the likes of Max Lowe, Sander Berge and Jayden Bogle close in on returns to fitness following injury. “We know this period coming up is going to be pivotal and we want them to be ready. We’ll make use of some under-21 games as well.”

With Rhys Norrington-Davies, Rhian Brewster, Daniel Jebbison, Oli MBurnie, John Fleck, Anel Ahmedhodzic and Ismaila Coulibaly also missing the meeting with City, Heckingbottom attributed the hamstring problem Jack Robinson suffered at the beginning of the contest to fatigue. After spending nearly three months on the sidelines, the defender was playing his fifth match in quick succession.

“We need bodies back so we can protect our lads,” Heckingbottom said. “We sat down a while back and we knew, because we were pitching people straight back in at the deep end, that we were going to get even more injuries. Or risk them, anyway. But there was no other choice really.”

Initially set to be unveiled in August and then October, United also expected the new pitches which have been laid at the Randox Health Academy to be declared operational before the clash with Town.

“That should be a big thing for us,” said Heckingbottom. “It’s been about getting some of the players through and trying to help others recuperate. Then it’s about getting ready for Huddersfield.

“The boys will have a programme when they’re away. Like I say, I don’t want them thinking of it as a pre-season, where they come back after not playing any football. This period, I believe, is going to be crucial.”