Sheffield United: Paul Heckingbottom sends a mesage to his entire squad

And that goes in particular to those on the periphery.

With Covid beginning to bite around all the leagues in the UK and the usual bout of injury and illness sure to come into pay at some point, Heckingbottom knows that he will have to dip into his squad at some point and rely on those who haven’t featured much of late.

The likes of Iliman Ndiaye and Oliver Burke have yet to play a part in United’s sharp rise under Heckingbottom, while goalkeeper Robin Olsen has been injured since the new boss took over but the manager knows they all could prove to be crucial at some point.

“If we can get everyone fit it is going to help us out,” he said ahead of Monday’s trip to Fulham.

“We are going to have spells, it's the time of year for illness regardless but if Covid's flying about, if at any point some players who haven't been playing for a few weeks have to be thrown in, they have to be ready to go and that has to be a message all the time.

"You never know when that's going to happen, when that opportunity is going to come. Not only in normal football circumstances - injury, loss of form, results but the strange times in which we live in now as well.”