'We've prepared for this moment' - Sheffield United look to influence the promotion conversation

Now, as they prepare to enter Satutday’s game against Watford on the back of two straight defeats, everything has changed. With that lead over Michael Carrick’s side quickly being slashed to four, many of the supposedly erudite pundits tasked with making sense of football’s most nonsensical division are tripping over themselves to claim that Bramall Lane is experiencing the type of implosion not seen since The Dixie Chicks decided to become political commentators.

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But are we really witnessing a decisive shift in the battle for Premier League status? Is it now inevitable that their rivals from the North-East, not United, will finish as runners-up behind leaders Burnley following May’s final round of fixtures?

“That’s a new one on me,” Heckingbottom smiled, when those theories were put to him by The Star ahead of United’s latest assignment. “Because we’ve been on a certain trajectory, of not losing and winning most of our matches, suddenly everything changes in an instant when that doesn’t happen. The trouble is, unlike when I was actually playing, you’ve got social media and so much coverage now. Everyone has got a voice and, in order to make that voice heard, you’ve got to shout about something that’s going to lift you above the crowd. You’ve only got to listen to it yourself for a while to see what’s going on. You get people, the ones who are put up there as experts, going on about one thing one day and then totally contradicting themselves the next. Really, it’s just noise. Absolute noise and nothing else.”

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Experience has taught Heckingbottom to ignore the more reactionary members of his profession and those tasked with covering it. But the 45-year-old, whose CV includes spells with Barnsley, Hibernian and the circus that was Massimo Cellino’s Leeds, knows that positive results are the only real vaccine for the hysteria which has spread like a virus through the modern game. Before losing to Middlesbrough and then Millwall, who like Watford are hopeful of qualifying for the end of season play-offs, United had gone 13 outings unbeaten with 10 of those ending in wins. Now, in less than a fortnight, they are supposedly a busted flush.

“The best thing is to switch off all that noise completely,” Heckingbottom admitted. “But in this day and age, it’s impossible to do that. So a sense of perspective is important. And that’s not something that everybody, without being rude or dismissive, has. It’s easy to get swept along by all of this stuff but we’re not going to get involved in all of that.”

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Nevertheless, it is still important to try and influence the tenor of the conversation surrounding a season. Particularly at a club like United which, after tasting defeat eight times in the end of term knockouts, can sometimes feel like it's pre-programmed to expect the worst. The most recent of those setbacks came on Heckingbottom’s watch, at Nottingham Forest in May.

“It’s not something that bothers me, what’s happened in the past,” he said, before striking a cautionary note about the danger of writing self-fulfilling prophecies. “What happened back then has got nothing to do with what might happen in the future. Not in football anyway. Not unless you want it to be an influence.”

“We’re talking about different players, different eras, different groups and circumstances,” Heckingbottom continued. “Results from way back count for nothing.”

United hope that is the case as they prepare to face opponents who beat them 1-0 during this term’s opening round of matches, although the ease of Watford’s victory was much greater than the scoreline might suggest. Heckingbottom’s team have improved immeasurably since then, taking 61 points from their next 31 assignments compared to the visitors’ 47 from 32.

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What should work to United’s advantage as they attempt to demonstrate their recent set-backs are a wrinkle rather than permanent crease in form is the fact Heckingbottom has been preparing for exactly this moment. In fact, he has often given the impression that it was inevitable a hiccup was coming. When it arrived, he has suggested on numerous occasions, United simply need to hold their breath, their nerve and move on. A sense of entitlement, Heckingbottom warned only a fortnight ago. Poses even more of a threat to their hopes of reaching the Premier League than anyone else in the competition.

“People always use the word ‘might’ when it comes to the lead,” he said, not so subtly reminding Carrick’s charges that they too are under pressure. “Take the word ‘might’ out of it. It’s impossible to keep growing a gap. There will be weeks, if you go for long enough, when you rise and the people below you fall. Then there’s ones where they pick up more points than you. We’ve always known that we’ve achieved nothing yet, as good as we’ve done up until now.”

United expect to welcome Iliman Ndiaye back to their starting eleven against Watford. The Senegal international, who has netted 10 goals so far this term, was named on the bench at The Den because of a niggling injury but is likely to partner leading scorer Oli McBurnie in attack. Tommy Doyle is also available for selection in midfield after confirming his fitness in south London.

“From an entertainment point of view, that’s why the Championship is always right up there,” said Heckingbottom. “Because the margins, every single week, are so slim. There’s always ups and downs but we’re ready for that. We’re just focusing, because it can be so unpredictable, on the things we know we can control.”

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