Heckingbottom hails Sheff Utd’s ‘first-class result’

Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom hailed his side’s relentless mentality as they drew level on points with Sky Bet Championship leaders Burnley thanks to a 2-1 victory away at Blackpool.

Sander Berge put the visitors ahead in the first half before James McAtee’s stunning solo effort doubled the lead after the break, with Marvin Ekpiteta striking for the hosts.

Norwegian midfielder Berge slotted home from inside the box after good work from Iliman Ndiaye, and the Senegalese youngster was on hand to feed Manchester City loanee McAtee, who carried the ball from inside his own half before producing a nonchalant finish past Daniel Grimshaw.

The victory moves the Blades onto 50 points alongside Burnley, with the pair now 11 points clear in the automatic promotion places, but Heckingbottom knows his players will not let up in their bid to return to the Premier League following relegation in 2021.

“The result was first class and big parts of the performance were good as well,” said Heckingbottom, whose side now have eight wins from their last nine matches.

“Especially in this league, you can’t take your foot off the gas. You have to be willing to work hard and make sacrifices.

“If our flair players, or match winners, aren’t willing to do that then they probably don’t play because they give the opposition an advantage, but their work rate is brilliant, and they help us win games at the other end as well.

“It’s a big gap over third, but we want to improve it, we want to keep winning.

“The more we get now, the harder the work, the better we perform, the more sacrifices we’re willing to make the better position we’re going to be in come the end of the season.

“That’s why performances like that are so pleasing. The players drive themselves and they understand what it takes.

“We try and reinforce it as coaches with the decisions we make to keep them on their toes, but the players are driving it and they deserve the credit.”

It turned into a comfortable victory on the road for the Blades despite Ekpiteta halving the deficit just six minutes after McAtee’s strike but the Seasiders were not without a number of sights of goal.

Ian Poveda stung the palms of Wes Foderingham early on, while Jake Beesley and Gary Madine were also denied by the away goalkeeper.

Blackpool boss Michael Appleton rued that profligacy as well as some defensive lapses but was defiant that his side have the ability to beat the drop despite a current run of eight games without a win.

“The players have shown great spirit to get themselves back into the game after going 2-0 down,” said Appleton.

“There was some really poor defensive decision making to allow that to happen but the one thing they have got is spirit in that dressing room and you could see right to the final whistle there’s a never-give-up attitude which is clear to see.

“That will go a long way between now and the end of the season. We’re going to need that spirit we’ve shown.

“There will be times in the season where two or three clubs will lose their spirit. We’ve got to make sure we hang in there and make sure we’re not one of them.”