James McAtee is making the right impression on Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom
Posted Sunday, November 13, 2022 by PA
Paul Heckingbottom was delighted with Sheffield United’s resilient display at Cardiff, hailing the impact of substitute James McAtee.
The hard-fought 1-0 success means the Blades are guaranteed to go into the winter break in second place in the Sky Bet Championship, although they are currently top, ahead of Burnley’s game against Blackburn tomorrow.
Cardiff, meanwhile, are languishing in 19th place having won just two from their last five games.
Heckingbottom said after George Baldock’s 64th-minute goal settled the contest: “There was a lack of quality early on in the game, at half-time we knew the game was still there for anyone to win it.
“We wanted the players to come out strongly in the second half and I think we started the half really well.
“For us to be where we are at this point is fantastic. I think we are only going to get better from this point on.
“We are in a good position, we have picked up points in difficult games, but we need to continue to improve as a team and hopefully we can capitalise when the league restarts.”
On on-loan Manchester City midfielder McAtee, he continued: “We have been working with James a lot in training, on stuff off the ball.
“We have been working on the defensive side of things. We have worked hard on our shape and he has come in today and made a big impact.
“We see glimpses all the time of what he can do. We are going to keep pushing him to improve in certain areas.
“We were getting to those top areas often enough, he definitely made the impact we wanted up top, I think he changed the game.”
The Bluebirds fell to their second loss in four days, paying for a poor second half showing after dominating much of the first half.
Boss Mark Hudson said: “We created plenty of opportunities and played some good football, but we definitely weren’t clinical enough in these important moments.
“First half we were as dominant as we could be, but we didn’t score and Sheffield punished us early in the second half.
“We just couldn’t find that finishing touch. It is disappointing, but we are creating chances, which is often very difficult.
“The break does give us an opportunity to look back at the start of the season, there are definitely positives heading forward.”
Rubin Colwill and Mark Harris now head for Qatar on Wales duty and Hudson added: “I have wished the two boys all the best at the World Cup.
“I hope they will enjoy themselves and get some game-time. It is great for the club and country.
“I hope they are successful over there, they have both worked really hard and have deserved the call.”
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