Sheffield United make a third trip to the capital in a matter of weeks this Saturday, with Fulham the latest side the Blades will face in their attempts at picking up a first win of the season. United have one point on the board, so far, thanks to a draw against Everton at the Lane but as yet a victory has eluded manager Paul Heckingbottom and his squad.
The boss has been speaking to the media ahead of their latest journey to London and he has been offering his view on the Liverpool/VAR uproar as well as issues closer to home, including the extent of the injury picked up by John Egan and how close some of his other players are from gettig back into the side following their own injuries.
Heckingbottom also spoke about Tom Davies and the softly-softly approach that has been taken in getting him ready for a potential regular starting place, as well as the impact of Oli McBurnie, what he learned from last week’s defeat to West Ham and his thoughts on Fulham.
1. John Egan and injuries
John Egan came off injured in last week’s defeat to West Ham and the early signs are that it’s not good news. The captain is to see a specialist on Friday to find out the extent of the injury but “he’s going to be out for a while,” said Heckingbottom. It’s been far from plain sailing on the injury front and it’s clearly a source of frustration for the manager. “Another one, I don’t know what we’ve done wrong, who we’ve upset but yes, it’s another big injury for us.” He added: “It’s a blow, I can’t deny that. We want everyone fit and we’d have the options for the starting XI, and options from the bench. We haven’t got that but then that’s an opportunity for others and that’s how we have to address it, that’s how we’ve always looked at it and that will continue how we do things.
2. Returning players
There are some other bumps and bruises to contend with but Heckingbottom wasn’t going to elaborate further, though he did have positive news on the injury front. “We have had Rhian [Brewster] obviously come back and he is closer and closer [to being fully fit], the other boys who have been out just making steps towards it. I think we’ll have one or two close to being back after the international break. When I say back, I mean back with the group.” Among those players currently out are George Baldock, Rhys Norrington-Davies, John Fleck, Ben Osborn, Will Osula and Daniel Jebbison.
3. Tom Davies’ closer to being fully up to speed
Heckingbottom was impressed by what he saw from Tom Davies when the former Everton midfielder came off the bench on Saturday at West Ham. Davies had had a lengthy spell on the sidelines and United have taken their time in making sure he was match fit before giving him a start. The indications are that moment might not be too far away, offering another option in the middle of the park. “We’ve been very patient, we’ve been working hard with him, day-by-day, week-by-week and you can see his levels getting better and better to the point where he comes on and has a big impact on the game. It’s [having players available for] selection but also having options in the game. We haven’t had that luxury with subs coming on to the level we want.”
4. Positives to take from last week at West Ham
Heckingbottom maintains there were signs of progress in the defeat to West Ham last week but it all came in the second half when it was perhaps a little too late. United did improve after the break but they were already 2-0 down, however it’s that which the boss says he wants to build on. He said: “The intent was there but we were too easy to play against in the first half and in the second half, everyone will point to the fact, and we had these discussions here, much more of an attacking theta, more attempts on goal the games played much more in West Ham’s hal but that’s because we defended properly. It was a good game for us to get a real strong message out of.”
5. The importance of Oli McBurnie
United are a different team with McBurnie in it – they defend better at both ends of the pitch and he has become a leader in the squad. It’s certainly not gone unnoticed by Heckingbottom but he reiterated the importance of being able to have subs to shake things up. “I still think he’s as good a player as any at the top end of the pitch when he gets good quality,” said the boss. “In terms of how we defend set-plays, yeah very good, defending the other way I think you could see away at Spurs how good he was again physically against some top centre backs. But again, the game is 100 minutes and then he needs the support from the bench. We are not going to do it with 11, we are going to do it with every player and each player has their own different way.”
6. Blocking out the noise
Heckingbottom admits he has been taking no notice of any criticism or indeed backing from anywhere outide the club, in the media particularly, but he did offer a subtle hint that people shouldn’t be looking at results alone when they are analysing United’s season so far. “I think you always have to be looking at your approach to fixtures, and every manager will tell you you have to be wary of results because that’s what puts you under pressure or not,” he said. “It’s a lot deeper than that. We have had to do a lot of work this summer and will continue to do a lot of work so we are nowhere near where we want to be, we know that, I understand that.”
7. On Fulham and the challenge ahead
The Cottagers have picked up two wins and two draws so far in their seven matches. He’s not likely to say anything else, but the Blades boss is expecting a tough game against a team who look like they’ll pick up enough points here and there without going on a run. “They have not changed their approach since they went up, he said. ” Subtle changes more around personnel because they have gradually improved the squad. They were very strong in the Championship when they went up, improved and did really well in the Premier League and tried to improve again this season as well. We pretty much know the tactical set-up with how it’s going to be but it’s a good team with some good players.”
8. VAR and Premier League officials
Heckingbottom stated his frustration a few weeks ago about match officials and in the wake of the Liverpool offside storm centred around a mistake by the VAR, the United boss was asked for his thoughts having previously made his thoughts clear on decision-making. “It’s two seperate things,” he said. “I want consistency, everyone wants consistency, the incident with Liverpool, it’s a goal everyone can see it’s a goal, the powers that be realised after a while. Can something be implemented where there can be an intervention there to make it right?”
