Sheffield United prepare for their date with destiny at Wolverhampton Wanderers

Sheffield United are preparing to go for broke during tonight’s game against Wolverhampton Wanderers after Paul Heckingbottom, the visitors’ caretaker manager, admitted anything other than a victory at Molineux will be “of no use to us whatsoever.”
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With United preparing for the match 18 points adrift of safety with only seven games of the season remaining, their relegation from the Premier League could be mathematically confirmed if they fail to win and other results fail to go their way.

Having acknowledged that, either way, the squad he inherited from Chris Wilder last month is destined for the Championship when he addressed the media earlier this week, Heckingbottom confirmed will instruct his players to try and attack Nuno Espirito Santo’s side rather than adopt a cautious approach.

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“We desperately need the points,” Heckingbottom said. “Anything other than a win, we know, is going to be no use to us whatsoever.

Sheffield United are approaching the point of no return: Andrew Yates/SportimageSheffield United are approaching the point of no return: Andrew Yates/Sportimage
Sheffield United are approaching the point of no return: Andrew Yates/Sportimage

“A point is no good to us. So we have to be positive.

“We’ve been doing a lot of work this week on getting bodies up the pitch, and being more positive when we get into key areas.

“We know what we’ve got to go there and do. There’s no point in dressing things up or pretending things are different, because they aren’t.”

Placed in charge until the end of the campaign following Wilder’s departure, United have lost all of their four outings under Heckingbottom so far. However, they had avoided defeat in only six of their outings since finishing ninth in the table last term.

Paul Heckingbottom: Simon Bellis/SportimagePaul Heckingbottom: Simon Bellis/Sportimage
Paul Heckingbottom: Simon Bellis/Sportimage
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“We know Wolves can be creative or go in for really tight games,” Heckingbottom continued. “We know they can change shape and throw people up top, and they’ve got the wing-backs like us who can bomb on too.

“We’re aware of the threats they’ve got and we have to take those seriously. But equally, we also have to carry a threat ourselves and then make sure we take advantage.

"We’ve got to be positive. There’s no other way to be, because nobody is going to turn things around for us. We have to do it ourselves.”