One of the names linked to the job is that of Paul Heckingbottom, a name familiar to my fellow Sheffield United fans, with the 46-year-old having guided the blades to the Premier League last season. So, allow me to lend any Mackems reading some wisdom about the man who may well take the reins next season.
Having worked as under-23s manager at Sheffield United before taking the top job after Slavisa Jovanović’s sacking, Paul Heckingbottom is no stranger to working with youngsters. Notable youth players handed their debuts under ‘Hecky’ include Iliman Ndiaye, who later moved to Marseille for a reported €18 million and Oliver Arblaster, who recently captained Sheffield United at Old Trafford aged just 20. As a Sheffield United fan myself, I can personally say that Ndiaye is the best I have ever seen don the red and white, whereas Oliver Arblaster is making a late push for United’s player of the season, despite having spent half of it on loan at Port Vale.
Sunderland’s squad is one of the youngest in the Championship, with Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg making regular appearances at just 18 and 16 respectively. Therefore, I am confident that Paul Heckingbottom is one of the best managers in the country to take advantage of the goldmine of young talent on Wearside.
Paul Heckingbottom scrapped Jovanović’s back four as soon as he became Sheffield United’s manager in the winter of 2021, setting up in a more familiar 3-5-2 formation for the majority of his games in charge at Bramall Lane. This approach made full use of the creative quality of defenders such as Anel Ahmedhodzic, with 40 goal contributions across all competitions coming from the United backline in 2022/23.
Perhaps the best goal to analyse Hecky’s way of playing actually came against Sunderland at Bramall Lane, with defender assisting defender from open play as the aforementioned Ahmedhodzic squared the ball to left-back Max Lowe to put United 2-0 up on the night.
Among the many admittedly terrible things about Paul Heckingbottom’s short stint as a Premier League manager this season, the massive vulnerability from set-pieces stood out for blades fans simply for how uncharacteristic it was of a Heckingbottom side. While watching Kieran Trippier’s set plays absolutely tear Sheffield United apart as the Toon won 8-0 at Bramall Lane may produce some uneasy feelings for Mackems, it is important to remember that Sheffield United’s promotion would not have been possible without Paul Heckingbottom’s focus on set pieces. United conceded only 8 goals from set-pieces last season, scoring 22 with 4 of which coming in a 5-2 thrashing of Burnley at Bramall Lane. Sunderland are a side that have dropped too many points because of set-piece weakness, for example in the 1-0 away loss to Huddersfield, so Heckingbottom may well improve this shortcoming.
Hecky is a hard-working man, espousing his identity in his first training session as Sheffield United manager: “if we lose the f*****g ball we win it back”. He demands effort from his players, and no identity could match the spirit of Wearside better.
Ill-fated spells at Hibs and Leeds may stifle any excitement around Heckingbottom. Indeed, his Sheffield United side this season was painful to watch at times. However, I am confident that Hecky is the right man for the Sunderland job. Having played for the likes of Darlington, Gateshead and even Sunderland themselves, Hecky knows the North-East well, and his tactical setup may fill many of the gaps that look to have cost the black cats a shot at the Playoffs this season.
When it comes to taking over after failed managers and leading a team to greatness, this is not his first rodeo. Slavisa Jovanović’s Sheffield United was one of the worst sides I have watched since the days of Nigel Adkins, and one man turned that around to lead us to Promotion – Paul Heckingbottom.