Sheffield United prepare to say goodbye to the Premier League and a forgettable but informative season

Goodbye old season. You certainly won’t be missed.
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Sheffield United’s latest Premier League campaign, and definitely their last for at least another 15 months, has provided precious few memorable moments but plenty of upset and pain.

Still, as Paul Heckingbottom admitted during his media conference earlier today, at least it will finish on a positive note. Sunday’s match at Bramall Lane, against perennial over-achievers Burnley, marks the return of supporters to their stadium.

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“It’s not given us any extra incentive, because we want to win anyway,” Heckingbottom, United’s caretaker manager said. “And it’s about more than just football. It’s another step towards normality, seeing people in the grounds.”

Paul Heckingbottom temporary manager of Sheffield Utd with Jason Tindall Sheffield Utd coach: Andrew Yates/SportimagePaul Heckingbottom temporary manager of Sheffield Utd with Jason Tindall Sheffield Utd coach: Andrew Yates/Sportimage
Paul Heckingbottom temporary manager of Sheffield Utd with Jason Tindall Sheffield Utd coach: Andrew Yates/Sportimage

The meeting with Sean Dyche’s side, who many people argue provide the best model for United to follow if they are able to recover from this term’s relegation, marks the end to a campaign which will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons.

Results have been terrible, barring the odd notable exception, and the number of injuries collected has been ridiculous too. But perhaps worst of all, it has seen them part company with Chris Wilder. With two promotions and a challenge for Europe on his United CV, the 53-year-old would have been the leading contender to take charge of the club had his exit not created the vacancy in the first place.

Placed in interim charge following his friend and former colleague’s exit, Heckingbottom has not been shy to admit, even when United’s board of directors named him as Wilder’s potential successor, that he will be a tough act to follow. Some might say impossible, given the relationship Wilder enjoyed with the fans.

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“Personally, I’d like to see a quick appointment because then the new guy cam start laying the groundwork.” Heckingbottom said. “It’s the start of a new era and iif it’s half as successful as the one Chris had here then we’ll be delighted because we know it’s going to be a good one.”

“It’s a new era, a new appointment and sooner rather than later, from me, so we can take some of the positives out of this season into the new one,” he added, confirming United will name their starting eleven 24 hours before the game. “We’ve had two physical matches and we’ll assess everyone. If there’s any issues then people won’t be riske. But the lads want to play.”

Heckingbottom, who despite creating the impression he is not in contention is known to have impressed United’s hierarchy with his work behind the scenes, once again attempted to persuade journalists he is planning to return to his job with the under-23’s following this weekend’s fixture. He probably won’t get the job. But you can never say never. Either way, having helped draw-up the strategy United will implement to ensure the next man at the helm quickly settles in, the former Barnsley, Leeds and Hibernian chief will remain one of the most influential figures at the football club. Even if his fingerprints are wiped from its first team operations.

“I’m not having the final say but I’ve been doing stuff like pre-season and dates, because people need clarity and they need to know what they have to be doing,” Heckingbottom said. “The ball can’t stop rolling because we want next season to be great.”

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Forced to wait until January for their first win in any competition since securing a ninth placed finish last term, United suffered one of the slowest and most painful deaths in top-flight history before their demotion was officially confirmed a little over one month ago. The official inquest into the reasons behind recent events will begin in earnest next week. But you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that a lack of quality - genuine Premier League quality - has been the biggest factor. The failure of Wilder, HRH Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his de facto director of football Jan van Winckel to reach a consensus on how best to solve this problem is another. Rank bad luck has also played a part too, together with the absence of crowds due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Having advocated the importance of agreeing and then sticking to a plan about how best to grow United, Heckingbottom has identified a number of other issues too. One was the decision to keep training through last year’s national lockdown. Well, lockdown of sorts considering no one was ever really confined to barracks. Acknowledging he was in danger of sounding like Captain Hindsight, Heckingbottom insisted Wilder and his staff would have done things differently had they been aware of how long the hiatus would last.

Ultimately, however, it all boils down to money. Which explains why success for Dyche’s employers is simply existing in the division while United, with only one rather than four seasons of PL revenues under their belt, are still viewed as paupers despite breaking their transfer record on countless occasions of late. The fees they lavished on Sander Berge, Rhian Brewster and Aaron Ramsdale might be big by their own standards. But they are still pretty miniscule by industry standards. And, in any case, wages are now the best measure of a club’s financial standing.

“It’s been tough, I’m not going to lie about it, but I have done my best,” Heckingbottom said. “It was good that I’ve managed before, because I can call on a lot of experience. I’ve given my best and that’s all I can do. The players have been great and they’ve responded. We know we’ve not been good enough and we know why we’ve come up short. But the boys have gone to the wire every time.”