Sheffield United: Why play-off race holds no fears for this team
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Five months ago, although Sheffield United were languishing in the lower reaches of the Championship, the 44-year-old was convinced the team he had just inherited was capable of challenging for promotion.
Twenty-six games and 13 wins later, the latest of which came over Cardiff City yesterday afternoon, Heckingbottom’s squad are now potentially one 90 minutes away from qualifying for the play-offs.
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Hide AdDepending upon results elsewhere in the division, United could make certain of their place if they beat Queens Park Rangers on Friday. Speaking after Iliman Ndiaye’s expertly crafted and clinically finished goal propelled them to a crucial victory over Steve Morison’s side, Heckingbottom repeated his warning that “things will probably go right down to the wire”. But rather than be intimidated by the prospect of entering next month’s match against runaway leaders Fulham with their fate still hanging in the balance, the 44-year-old insisted the journey United have been on following his appointment in November means they would be infused with a sense of excitement instead.
“We haven’t got the luxury of having a cushion,” Heckingbottom explained, as United began preparing for the penultimate fixture of their regular campaign. “That’s because we’ve always been chasing. For a long time, we were always looking to try and catch up.
“So to put ourselves in this position, it’s great. But we want more. We want to push on.
“Internally, when we first came in, we spoke about this. I always saw this season as a great opportunity to get in the mix.”
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Hide AdWith Coventry and Queens Park Rangers dropping out of contention, Middlesbrough and Millwall faltering in United’s slipstream and Blackburn Rovers forced to wait until Monday before attempting to launch their own surge, this was a pivotal weekend in the race for the top six. Heckingbottom thought the Bank Holiday double-headers would set the tone. Instead, it was the latest round of fixtures which revealed the contenders with staying power and those who are running out of gas.
United laboured at the start of their contest against City, with Max Watters forcing a good save from Wes Foderingham during the opening exchanges. But as the afternoon wore on, their superior quality began to shine through.
Having challenged Ndiaye to “do more” not so long ago, Heckingbottom was delighted to see the young Frenchman score for the second time in three outings. The sight of United taking on board his instructions to flood the opposition penalty box whenever the opportunity arose, following some profligate displays of late, pleased Heckingbottom even more.
“For the goal, we had four bodies I think in there which was great to see,” Heckingbottom said. “That was important because Sander (Berge) made a great run to create the space for Iliman to head home.”
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Hide Ad“Things are always going to get thrown at us,” Heckingbottom added. “That’s always been the case but what these lads do is just take them on the chin.”