Sheffield United: The biggest positive of a statement victory at Fulham wasn't the final scoreline

Sheffield United’s match craft. Or to put it another way, their gamesmanship. Something which, however you want to describe it, was a feature of last night’s performance in west London.

After watching his side succumb to Iliman Ndiaye’s superbly crafted goal at the beginning of the first-half, Silva’s frustration was evident as he described how the visitors had effectively disrupted the rhythm of the contest whenever their opponents threatened to take charge.

But for Heckingbottom, whose players were accused of being too soft and too naive as they were relegated from the Premier League last season, the sight of Wes Foderingham and Jack Robinson both suffering timely bouts of cramp during spells of Fulham pressure was a joy to behold. He didn’t say so explicitly. However, it was clear the United manager took it as a sign of their growing maturity and willingness to do whatever it takes to win.

“We’ll come with a game plan and a mentality,” Heckingbottom said, after the 1-0 victory. “Hopefully that’s enough for us.

“Traditionally, that is it - the Championship. It’s tight. Very tight. But if we can keep our level of performance, and show the same attitude, then I think we’ll win more than we lose.”

United climbed to 11th in the table after maintaining their unblemished record under Heckingbottom, who succeeded former Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic at the helm last month.

Although he acknowledged their display was far from perfect - with their frequent turnovers of possession before the interval a particular source of concern - Heckingbottom was fulsome in his praise of United’s ability to nullify the threat posed by an attack spearheaded by Aleksandar Mitrovic; the division’s leading goalscorer with 25 strikes in his last 27 appearances.

Silva, whose team remains top despite their recent downturn in form, said: “They (United) played their game and it is up to them to do it. The referee allowed them to do it. The referee let them change the intensity. We also did a lot of unenforced errors and we seemed to have a problem playing our football.”

“We didn’t open the gaps as we should have done,” Silva added. “But I don’t think they created a lot. It wasn’t a good game of football in my opinion. Of course the goal saw us lose a bit of confidence. If you are anxious about doing your job, then of course you are not going to do it well.”

Mitrovic, who was well-marshalled by Jack Robinson throughout, did hit the woodwork deep into added time.

Heckingbottom later admitted he “thought” the Serb “would score” when he finally escaped the centre-half’s clutches but insisted: “You have to win a game like that. You have to be able to do it and show you can consistently do it. That (consistency) is so important at any level, but especially this one with the division like it is.”