Sheffield United: Injury investigation gathers pace as new head of performance is appointed
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Little, previously of Preston North End, worked with Paul Heckingbottom during the United manager’s spell as a player with his hometown club Barnsley before undertaking roles at clubs including Burnley, Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City.
His return to South Yorkshire, where he has also been employed by Sheffield Wednesday, comes as Heckingbottom investigates the reasons behind United’s poor fitness record in recent months with the likes of Jayden Bogle and Rhian Brewster, their record signing, still sidelined.
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Hide AdAlthough the 44-year-old suspects the number of postponements his team suffered over the Christmas and New Year period was the catalyst for a situation which also saw Chris Basham and George Baldock spend long periods on the sidelines, he told The Star earlier this month that United’s coaching staff would “leave no stone unturned” during the inquest they launched before watching their squad beaten on penalties by Nottingham Forest in the Championship play-off semi-finals.
“We’ll be looking into everything,” said Heckingbottom, after recommending training surfaces at the Randox Health Academy are improved during meetings with the United hierarchy. “We’ve got ideas about why what happened happened. But we just want to make sure and be the best we can be.”
The CV
Little is regarded as a leader in his field by others within the game, and boasts a PhD in physiology from the Manchester Metropolitan University. He has also been awarded an MSc in sports science and nutrition and a BSc in sports science from the universities of Staffordshire and Birmingham respectively.
Having worked as a performance consultant for the New Zealand FA, where he was responsible for designing “fitness models” for its regional and international programmes, Little has been involved in a number of promotions throughout his career in the game which started at Manchester City.
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Hide AdDuring Little’s time at Turf Moor, Burnley experienced the lowest number of injuries in the Premier League.
He has spent the past nine years with North End, having first joined them as head of performance before being named fitness coach.
Little is scheduled to begin working for United early next month, before Heckingbottom’s squad reports back for training.