Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom hailed the mentality of his side after a 1-0 win at Norwich took them six points clear of their nearest rivals in the battle for automatic promotion from the Championship.
A hard-fought game of few clear-cut chances was settled just after the hour mark with a close-range goal from on-loan Manchester City youngster James McAtee, with loud appeals for offside from Norwich falling on death ears.
With Neil Warnock doing his former side a favour by guiding Huddersfield to victory against Middlesbrough, the Blades are now in a position of strength going into their final seven games and Heckingbottom was delighted with his team’s efforts at Carrow Road.
“This is a tough place to come – Norwich were a Premier League side last season and have a lot of good players,” he said.
“They are the sort of team we measure ourselves against and we have come here and put in a good performance to take the three points. From where I was sitting I would say we were good value for it.
“Wes Foderingham has only had one save to make and that was right at the end, while we had a number of good chances.
“I liked the way we approached the game. The mentality of the players was spot on and they produced a really good performance.
“It’s taken us another step closer to where we want to be. Every time we win a game it puts more pressure on the sides below us – I want them to be worrying about us and what we are doing, not the other way around.
“We are now in a position where we can concentrate on what we are doing, just think about ourselves. No-one else matters if we keep picking up the points.”
Clear-cut chances were at a premium all afternoon, but Norwich never got close to scoring while their visitors had a few decent moments.
Anel Ahmedhodzic hit the crossbar in the first half from a corner, while George Baldock also struck the woodwork with a curling shot shortly after McAtee had opened the scoring.
Marquinhos’ injury-time effort that drew a decent save out of Foderingham was the closest a misfiring Norwich side came to getting on the scoresheet, and head coach David Wagner acknowledged his side were some way below their best, even though he felt the United winner shouldn’t have stood.
“I think for the final pass their player was onside but in the build-up there was a clear offside, a yard or half a yard, and so the goal should have been disallowed,” he said.
“But I have to accept that we were beaten by a better side offensively on the day – we did not play well enough to create any clear-cut chances.
“Our passing wasn’t good enough, technically we were not good enough and we just didn’t pose enough threat in the final third. I can’t complain about the effort the players put in, they kept going right until the end, but it wasn’t enough.”
Norwich are now four points adrift of the play-off places with seven games to play and Wagner added: “There is still everything to play for and we have just got to work hard on the grass and in the training room, to give us as good a chance as possible in the games ahead.”
