Why James McAtee didn't feature in Sheffield United's win over Millwall as boss makes pledge over Man City man

With United 2-0 up at half-time, many Blades expected to see their first glimpse of the highly-rated teenager late in the game after he signed on loan from City earlier that week.

But Heckingbottom, taking emotion and sentimentality out of the equation, admitted: “I don’t want to tee him up and I want to respect everything we do, and how hard it is to get on the pitch on this team.

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“I’m big on everyone knowing their roles and their jobs and we haven’t had long enough to work with James and Reda [Khadra] and the other boys we’ve bought in, to really give them that detail without the ball.

“When you’re in the team and you’re 2-0 up, it’s about without the ball. It’s just something I’m not willing to do. I want a clean sheet, I want the win, and it also allows me to stress the importance of that.

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“It’s always horses for courses in games and sometimes the decision in my eyes is an easy one. Other times you’re going off a gut feeling or how someone’s trained in that week. Things like that.”

Khadra was also an unused substitute as goals from Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge sealed victory over the Lions. Both men could make their debuts later this week, however, when United travel to West Bromwich Albion in the EFL Cup.

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