Sheffield United defender praises manager after season turnaround | OneFootball

Sheffield United defender Jack Robinson has been praising manager Paul Heckingbottom after the former Barnsley boss gave him ‘a new lease of life’.

When Heckingbottom was appointed manager in before Christmas, Sheffield United were as close to the bottom three as they were to the playoffs, but since then the Blades have turned themselves into top six contenders.

It was a statement you couldn’t say under Jokanovic as the team was thwarted by inconsistency and a style of play that didn’t suit them under the Serbian.

Heckingbottom coming in as manager has lifted the side in the table, but also the overall spirit of the club having reverted back to the style of play that was so successful under previous manager Chris Wilder.

This left defender Jack Robinson praising his manager after his own turnaround in form, telling The Yorkshire Post: “It is hard when you are in and out the team to get that and Hecky has given me that chance and hopefully, I have repaid him back with some good performances.

“I feel like I have performed well over the past few months and Hecky has given me that confidence just to go out and play my own game and I think I have proved to him that I can solidify that position.”

Sheffield United take on Barnsley in a Yorkshire Derby hoping for three points before the international break.

Jack Robinson has been lucky in the sense that Heckingbottom sees the value he brings to the side. He’s been Mr Reliable on the left hand side of the back three and has given the Blades a steely, aggressive balance they lack in Jack O’Connell’s absence.

There are good options available at centre back for Sheffield United, with the likes of Ben Davies and Charlie Goode also competing for a place.

So, the faith shown by Heckingbottom and the consistency from Robinson just goes to show you don’t always need to recruit for new players when you already have good, undervalued players at your club.