Unusual step proves how serious Sheffield United are about their FA Cup tie with Wrexham

Speaking immediately after Saturday’s stalemate, Heckingbottom told The Star that United’s coaching staff and squad would be staging an early evening session at the Randox Health Academy in order to ensure they are fully prepared for a match which will decide who hosts Tottenham Hotspur in the fifth round.

Explaining the thinking behind his unusual decision, the 45-year-old said: “Football, the players, that’s our focus. We’ve got a busy couple of weeks coming up now, with some really important games, so we’re going straight back to the training ground.”

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“If we’d left that until Sunday, then it would have limited the work we can do,” Heckingbottom added. “Particularly with the lads who weren’t involved (at New York Stadium) or who didn’t feature and might well be involved here. We want to get as much done as we possibly can.”

Despite being reduced to 10 men midway through the second period when Daniel Jebbison was sent-off, United secured a 3-3 draw at the Racecourse Ground thanks to John Egan’s late equaliser. Oli McBurnie had earlier given the Championship club an early lead but, confirming why they are favourites to win promotion from the National League, Phil Parkinson’s men twice took the lead before the Republic of Ireland international pounced with only seconds remaining.

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With Jebbison still suspended and John Fleck, Enda Stevens, George Baldock and Tommy Doyle among those to miss last weekend’s South Yorkshire derby, Heckingbottom admitted the transfer embargo United were placed under before the window closed six days ago means it is vital they collect no more injuries.

“Even though it’s going to be busy, we’re not going to be able to make as many changes as we might usually want to,” he said, looking ahead to the clash with opponents who are unbeaten since October. “We’re light on numbers and so that’s something we’ve got to be mindful of. Hence the reason we wanted to get the lads in and get some work done.”

Given the spending power placed at the Welsh club’s disposal following its takeover by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Parkinson has a number of players at his disposal who would ordinarily be competing in the English Football League. However, United’s superior calibre - they are second in the table and 10 points clear of third - means they are expected to progress and meet Antonio Conte’s side.

Despite being frustrated by Rotherham, something Heckingbottom blamed on their failure to turn their neighbours’ defence, he said: “If anything, we wanted more runs going in behind. We played in front of them a lot. We didn’t make enough of the runs we needed to make.”

With Wrexham likely to adopt a similar approach to Rotherham, Heckingbottom and his assistants used the extra session they squeezed into their schedule to try and address that problem.

“We can use it to work on a couple of things,” Heckingbottom said. “That and try to get some minutes into the legs of the lads who need that.”

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