Sheffield United: 'I'm not happy,' Paul Heckingbottom admits - and this is why

Although injuries have wreaked havoc with Heckingbottom’s selections of late, with 12 senior professionals missing last weekend’s victory over Cardiff City, United finished the latest round of domestic fixtures ranked second in the table.

But as his attention turns towards next month’s game against Huddersfield Town, which could see United record their fifth win in six outings, Heckingbottom told his players not to expect a pat on the back for keeping their push for Premier League football on track in difficult circumstances. Instead, he wants them to issue a statement of intent by seizing control of the division over the Christmas and New Year period.

“I’m pleased with the progress, but I’m not satisfied with where we are or anything else,” Heckingbottom said. “I’m never satisfied and we can’t be satisfied. There’s always a niggle when things don’t go right, as they haven’t always. But you can’t get lost in that. You can’t get too caught up in in, because you can just confuse yourself.

“I look at this group and I believe there’s more to come from it. I think it’s capable of doing even more and we can’t be relaxed about that or take anything for granted. We want more. We can never settle for what we’ve got right now.”

Heckingbottom’s words will send a shiver down the spine of United’s rivals for a top two place, reminding them that his squad has been able to average 1.8 points per game so far this term despite never being at full strength. Tommy Doyle, Oli McBurnie, Jack Robinson, Max Lowe, Jayden Bogle and Anel Ahmedhodzic, United’s marquee summer signing, were among those to miss the start of the campaign. Sander Berge, John Fleck, Rhian Brewster and Rhys Norrington-Davies have since been ruled-out with fitness issues, alongside Daniel Jebbison.

“We’ll look at what we’ve done, take accountability for things that have gone wrong and then act upon it,” said Heckingbottom. “We can always improve, always.”