Sheffield United: Oli McBurnie and The Blades now understand one another perfectly says delighted boss

McBurnie enters tomorrow’s game against Queens Park Rangers enjoying his best run of form since arriving at Bramall Lane three years ago, having netted during last weekend’s draw with Birmingham City before Troy Deeney equalised for the visitors.

After working with McBurnie for a brief spell at Barnsley before the pair went their separate ways, Heckingbottom remained a staunch supporter of the Scotland international despite seeing him go nearly a year without finding the back of the net.

MORE: https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-lack-of-preparation-time-for-birmingham-city-match-laid-bare-3864007

That faith, combined with a series of tactical tweaks and adjustments to McBurnie’s role, is now paying dividends with his performances helping propel United to the top of the Championship table.

“I don’t want to go into too much detail about why Oli is different,” Heckingbottom told The Star. “But he is. He’s different on the pitch and he’s different in himself too, I’ve noticed that. But he’s always been Oli, it just needed to come out which we knew it would.

“He’s doing great, he’s got a few and he’s got to carry it on now.”

“Oli is now where we want him to be, on the pitch, and where we need him to be. I think he realises that’s where he should always have been going, taking up those kind of positions more. He’s getting into areas where he’s got more chance of what he’s got, what he’s always had, really count. And that’s good for him and for us.”

United’s lead over second placed Norwich City was cut to a point when they were held by John Eustace’s side, who Heckingbottom had warned were much more dangerous than their league ranking might suggest. But thanks in no small part to McBurnie’s superb second-half finish, firing home on the turn when City failed to deal decisively with an Oliver Norwood set-piece, United stretched their unbeaten run to 10 ahead of what promises to be another tough encounter. Rangers are fifth after beating Bristol City at Ashton Gate thanks to efforts from Stefan Johansen and Tyler Roberts.

Despite McBurnie’s form, Heckingbottom expressed his delight that United still have some tough selection choices to make in attack ahead of their meeting with Michael Beale’s team.

“We brought Rhian (Brewster) on and we wanted to do that, because he’s looked so bright in training,” Heckingbottom said, after watching the youngster score twice for England’s under-21’s during the international break. “Billy (Sharp) is back out there again now and we know he’s always going to score goals in this league.

“There’s lots of options and it’s really good to have them. Iliman (Ndiaye) has got a few too. But we also want that threat from the midfield, because goals really do make the difference.”

United enjoyed the lions’ share of possession against City but struggled to translate that into a series of clear cut opportunities until McBurnie pounced.

“Sunderland, when they were here, that was a different because they came at us,” Heckingbottom added. “But every other game has been like that.

“QPR will do it their own way. They’ll be thinking ‘How do we stop Sheffeld United?’ But they’ll also want a threat.”

MORE: https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-five-things-we-learned-following-the-clash-with-birmingham-city-3864215