Sheffield United: What really shaped the strategy designed to deliver promotion to the Premier League
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But the person responsible for devising it, Tom Little, has told The Star that his methods were actually shaped during difficult periods. Times when, because he’d been parachuted into a club that was struggling or attempting to recover from a set-back, every single facet of his plan had to be explained, stress-tested and accounted for.
“The most valuable moments, the ones that are always the most important, always come when you’re in a situation that isn’t so great,” he said. “That’s because you have to justify everything that you’re doing or going to be doing, not only to yourself but also to the people you’re working with. You go over everything and, at the end of the day, people want to see results. That’s what brings them on board.”
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Hide AdPlagued by fitness issues during the second-half of last term, which meant they entered the Championship play-offs without Billy Sharp, record signing Rhian Brewster, Jayden Bogle and Oli McBurnie, United manager Paul, Heckingbottom moved to appoint Little as his new head of performance soon after May’s semi-final defeat by Nottingham Forest. Although the arrival of Anel Ahmedhodzic, Tommy Doyle and Ciaran Clark has dominated the news agenda since, there is a school of thought behind the scenes that Little’s switch from Preston North End could turn-out to be the most important acquisition Heckingbottom makes ahead of next month’s visit to Watford. United’s trio of new faces, who could soon be joined by Brighton and Hove Albion forward Reda Khadra, are all accomplished footballers. But accomplished footballers are effectively useless unless they are on the pitch.
Burnley, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and the New Zealand FA are among those to benefit from Little’s approach, which involves wrapping scientific ideas in a simple, plain-speaking cloak.
Holistic, it also builds bridges between a number of different disciplines, including nutrition, analytics, fitness and conditioning.
“The tiny details,” Little said ahead of tomorrow’s friendly at Scunthorpe,” Make a big difference.”