Sheffield United: Paul Heckingbottom believes his team have already achieved the impossible

United finished the weekend in the automatic promotion positions after beating Cardiff City in south Wales before Burnley, the team they briefly replaced at the summit of the division, beat neighbours Blackburn Rovers yesterday.

Revealing the visitors’ preparations for the meeting with Mark Hudson’s side had also been affected by a virus sweeping through the Randox Health Academy training complex, Heckingbottom insisted recent results illustrated the character of their squad.

The win over City, secured despite the absence of 13 senior professionals, was their fourth victory in five outings.

“If you’d have asked me at the start (of the season) if they’d be doing what they’re doing given what I know now, with all these lads out, then ‘no’, I probably wouldn’t have thought so,” Heckingbottom told The Star. “I’m proud of them, how they’ve responded, because of the demands we put on them.

“There’s an illness going through the place as well, players and staff, but they still put themselves out there. People are carrying knocks and going out there if they can.”

With Anel Ahmedhodzic, Oli McBurnie and John Fleck all withdrawing ahead of kick-off due to health and fitness issues, Heckingbottom was asked if the triumph over City was United’s biggest of the campaign so far given the circumstances.

“It is big, yes,” he replied. “But then again, they’re all big. It shows the character of the boys and so does the response after half-time, because there wasn’t a lot of quality to begin with being produced out there. We’ve still got to improve and we want to.”

United are scheduled to return to action on December 10th, when Huddersfield Town will make the short journey across Yorkshire. Jack Robinson was withdrawn against City after damaging a hamstring during the opening exchanges while it later emerged that McBurnie’s rehabilitation from hernia surgery could be complicated by news he damaged ankle ligaments towards the end of last week’s derby against Rotherham.

“For us to be where we are now,” said Heckingbottom, “Brilliant.”