Sheffield United make Man City promise after taking a huge step towards promotion
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Speaking after watching his second-placed side move eight points clear of third following last night’s victory over Bristol City, the United manager insisted the battle with Pep Guardiola’s side, not the prospect of reaching the Premier League, is the only thing on his mind ahead of this weekend’s visit to Wembley.
Insisting United can cause what would be one of the greatest upsets in the history of the competition by beating a squad which has reportedly cost nearly £900m to assemble, Heckingbottom told The Star: “We’ve done all we can in the league and now we can forget about that and focus on another really big game. It’s a different (competition) in its own right and that is how we’ve approached it all the way through, used it as a break from the league and what we are trying to do in that and to attack it. Listen, if we achieve what we want to achieve in the league, then this is going to be the kind of test we are facing every single week so why not try and test ourselves now? We’re looking forward to it and it’s all we are thinking about for the moment.”
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“Listen, we are not daft, we know we have to focus on playing one of the best teams in the world,” Heckingbottom added. “We’re not being silly about it. We know we have to have them (City) having an off day and for us to be at our very best, maybe beyond that, to do it. But we’re going to relish it, give it a real go and, before then, try to prepare the very best we can.”
Despite entering the meeting with Bristol City 12 places above the visitors, United laboured through the first-half until the introduction of James McAtee, on loan from the Etihad Stadium, helped change the course of the contest. The midfielder, who like Tommy Doyle is ineligible for selection against his parent club, combined with Iliman Ndiaye to score the only goal of the game with just under a quarter-of-an-hour remaining.
Confirming that McAtee nearly missed the meeting with Nigel Pearson’s men due to an injury sustained in training on the eve of the match, Heckingbottom said: “Macca was initially not in the squad, he left the training ground in a boot. Fortunately, I got a nice phone call this time saying he was feeling a lot better and we gave him a fitness test and he came through.”
Acknowledging United had not been at their best before the interval, Heckingbottom added: “We changed our shape and also our approach to be a little bit braver. We were much more of an attacking force from them on. Their shape to begin with meant it became scrappy and bitty, because it made things man for man and that meant you were always receiving the ball under pressure. It was the type of game they wanted and we were able to change that.”