'It will be hair-raising' - Sheffield United told to prepare for nail-biting finale

Although the 45-year-old acknowledged his “ideal scenario” would be seeing United secure a return to the Premier League before May’s visit to Birmingham City, he has warned their players, staff and supporters alike to brace themselves for a nerve-wracking finale.

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Heckingbottom’s men remained second in the table after beating Watford at Bramall Lane, with their lead over third-placed Middlesbrough stretching to seven points after Michael Carrick’s men lost to West Bromwich Albion.

“Sometimes, you give answers to the questions you get asked and feel like you’re just trotting out cliches,” Heckingbottom said. “But that’s because that’s what this division is like - even when you’ve got teams who are excellent throughout an entire season, it always seems to go right down to the wire.”

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United return to action when Tottenham Hotspur visit South Yorkshire in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday night, before they travel to Blackburn Rovers and Reading. United entered their clash with Slaven Bilic’s team on the back of a two match losing streak, having been defeated by Middlesbrough and Millwall. They had previously gone unbeaten in 13 outings, with 10 of those games resulting in wins.

“We fight, because that’s what we do,” Heckingbottom said. “This group, it will always fight and we’ll never stop doing that no matter what is thrown at us. We know better than anyone how hard the lads have worked to get into this position. That’s why we know they’ll carry on fighting.”

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