Sheffield United: Manager explains his unconventional move before win over Stoke City

Having started the latest round of Championship fixtures ranked third in the table, Rovers saw their hopes of closing the gap on United dashed when they were beaten at the New York Stadium in the lunchtime kick-off. That result meant Heckingbottom’s men began the meeting with City knowing that a victory would see them strengthen their grip on second place. Iliman Ndiaye’s goal, followed by two from Jayden Bogle either side of Nick Powell’s effort for the visitors, saw United begin their preparations for Friday’s meeting with Hull City 11 points clear of Watford who leapfrogged Rovers after overcoming Blackpool.

Although it is commonplace for teams to insulate themselves from events elsewhere ahead of key matches, Heckingbottom said: “We were aware of what happened with Blackburn before kick-off. It didn’t change anything and it didn’t give us any extra incentive because we have to focus on ourselves.”

Despite fighting for survival at the other end of the division, Rotherham thumped Rovers 4-0 to not only boost their survival hopes but also provide United with an opportunity to take another step towards the Premier League. Despite their lead over Slaven Bilic’s men, whose nearest challengers are now Middlesbrough, Heckingbottom added: “We’re taking nothing for granted, nothing. That’s because, no disrespect to Blackburn whatsoever, but there are going to be other teams as well who get close to us. There will be so many ups and downs, no matter what anyone thinks. Until we reach a game where things are mathematically certain, then it won’t mean a thing.”

Although Heckingbottom expressed his satisfaction with United’s latest body of work, the sight of Ndiaye limping-off with an injury midway through the second-half will be a cause for concern given that the Senegal international has either scored or created more than a third of their strikes since August.

“It’s too early to tell (how serious it is),” Heckingbottom said. “We’ll have to wait and see but he wanted to carry on.”