Paul Heckingbottom hails Sheffield United’s performance in victory over Watford

Posted Sunday, February 26, 2023 by PA

Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom praised his side’s performance against a tough Watford side following their narrow 1-0 Championship victory.

An own goal by Ryan Porteous in the second half saw United defeat their promotion rivals and move seven points clear of the play-off places.

Heckingbottom said: “It’s all about how many points we get. We changed slightly due to Watford’s attacking players, we paid Watford respect. To limit them to six chances today was brilliant. We were generally first to the ball.”

When discussing the importance of winning in the battle to return to the Premier League, Heckingbottom said: “The gap is not going to stay the same until the end of the season. We need to look after ourselves to the end of the season.

“It’s important we have players back to gain enough points for promotion. When we get players back it’s going to be difficult to make selections.

“The dressing room is good. I feel the players are always impressed with the staff. They know the standards we expect, I know what we try and be every day.

“The norm in this league is wins by a single goal. So, I thought we were comfortable, I thought we were good. Today we showed a lot of composure and discipline without the ball.

“We know how we want to play; we know how we went to look. Mentality is just as important as tactics at the end of the day.”

When asked about playing Tottenham in the FA Cup on Wednesday, Heckingbottom added: “It is 100 per cent unfair that we have congested fixtures when European teams don’t, but we have to deal with it.

“We’ll try and win the cup. No replays now which adds something different. I’m glad it’s at Bramall Lane.”

Watford boss Slaven Bilic praised his side’s ability to cope with the toughness of their opponents.

However, Bilic was disappointed to come away empty handed, considering chances were wasted.

He said: “We knew we would have to be complete here to get a result. The first job was to cope with their physicality.

“We knew how strong they were and we coped with that well. We had to be committed with determination and – to be fair – we did that really well.

“We made them frustrated; we made them have to run; we were switching sides. But we didn’t penetrate. We didn’t create enough.”

When questioned whether Watford could still finish in the automatic promotion places, Bilic responded: “Before this game we were not thinking about the first two positions, we want to be in the top six.

“Realistically, we want to reach the play-offs. It’s very tight. Our Championship is very well known for those kind of things, you know.

“Somehow a team behind the top two teams suddenly win eight in a row. But Burnley and Sheffield United are in a comfortable position, let’s be honest.”

On Imran Louza, Bilic added: “We have to be negotiating with the medical staff about a few players. I would never take Louza off the pitch, he gives you balance.

“The plan was for him to play 45, but at half-time I asked him to play on. But after 60 minutes we had to sub him to play against Preston (next Saturday).”