Sheffield United: How Rocky, Hecky and David McGoldrick helped Oli McBurnie end his goal-drought
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“I put on Rocky Four earlier in the afternoon,” he says, detailing his unusual pre-match preparations for Friday’s game against Luton Town. “It’s the best one of the whole franchise. Well it is for me, anyway. I wanted something to get me fired up.”
The film, full of patriotic fervour, had the desired effect. Seven hours or so after streaming it at Sheffield United’s temporary base in Bedfordshire, the centre-forward ended his near year long wait for a goal and ensured Paul Heckingbottom’s side took a point from the contest.
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Hide Ad“I saw the Conor McGregor documentary before my last appearance and that seemed to work pretty well,” continues McBurnie, admitting the volley which left Ethan Horvath grasping at thin air had “lifted a weight” from his shoulders. “But I wanted something a little bit different this time around and so I went for a bit of Rocky. It’s a sad film at the start, when Apollo Creed dies. By the end, though, it’s brilliant. You had all these Soviets chanting Rocky’s name and I had visions of the Luton fans down here chanting ‘McBurnie, McBurnie’ when I tucked the shot away. Only joking. That was never going to happen. But if it had have done, that would have been fun.”
McBurnie can be forgiven for being in a mischievous mood as he reflects upon the volley, executed every bit as perfectly as the combinations responsible for finishing off Drago, which ended a drought stretching all the way back to last September’s Carabao Cup tie with Southampton. But he is brutally frank too, acknowledging there were times during that 24 match barren run when he began to wonder if the critics who questioned both his fitness and ability were actually on to something.
“I’m as strong minded as anyone I know, but of course you do have doubts. Have I lost it? If I have, will I ever get it back. But the rest of the boys have been brilliant with me during training. Even when I wasn’t scoring, they kept my spirits up as much as they possibly could. That really did mean a lot.”
McBurnie has also received help from outside the United dressing room. David McGoldrick, who left Bramall Lane earlier this summer following four memorable seasons in South Yorkshire, remains in close contact despite joining Derby County. The former Republic of Ireland international, a member of the squad which reached the Premier League under the tutelage of Paul Heckingbottom’s predecessor Chris Wilder, sent McBurnie a motivational text message just before the 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road, which saw Carlton Morris open the scoring for the hosts.
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Hide Ad“Didzy got in touch, telling me not to go chasing the goals because they’ll come. He had his own periods when it didn’t happen for him, but the fans still loved him because he put it all in. I try to do the same thing, no matter what.
“I can’t speak highly enough of that guy. He’s my closest friend in football, a true friend for life. I would do anything for him, seriously. I think so much of him and knowing he’s got my back as well, that really means something.”
McGoldrick’s advice proved remarkably prescient, with McBurnie thrashing the ball home early in the second period after John Egan and Tommy Doyle had recycled Oliver Norwood’s corner. The strike capped a potentially pivotal week for the Scotland international, whose combative display alongside Reda Khadra a week earlier had laid the foundations for a 3-0 thrashing of Blackburn Rovers.
“Maybe I was trying to force things in that one,” confesses McBurnie, whose troubling form was compounded by injury and two debilitating illnesses last term. “Sometimes, you just need those ones where you have to do something instinctively.”
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Hide AdA subtle change of role, coupled with Heckingbottom’s incessant cajoling, has also helped him look more like the player United paid £20m for following a hugely productive spell with Swansea City. During his last full campaign at the Liberty Stadium, McBurnie netted 24 times in only 44 appearances.
“I can’t thank the gaffer, (assistant) Jack Lester and all the sports scientists enough either. They’ve stuck by me and I feel fitter and sharper than ever now. When people show so much faith in you, it makes a difference.
“I’ve also been trying to stay as a ‘number nine’ more recently as well. Working with Reda Khadra and Iliman Ndiaye, they like to drop deep and make things happen. That’s what they’re good at. So I’ve been trying to stay much higher up the pitch. Maybe I don’t always get on the ball as much as I would like or used to. But it does help me get into better positions.”
Despite being hailed as a “good point” by both Heckingbottom and McBurnie, United’s latest result wasn’t enough to see them retain their place at the top of the nascent Championship table. Instead, with Reading climbing to first following a narrow victory over Millwall, United will enter tomorrow’s game against the new leaders in second.
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Hide Ad“The feeling, the emotion of getting a goal, there’s nothing like it and I’ve missed it so much,” says McBurnie, looking ahead to the visit of Paul Ince’s side. “But you know what this league is like, you have a game what feels like every 24 hours and so I’m going to tape up my legs and get ready to go again.
“It’s brilliant to get back in the goals again but it’s just one, and I don’t want it to be a novelty. I want to get back out there and experience it all over again.”