{"id":298894,"date":"2023-12-03T08:45:26","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T08:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/?p=298894"},"modified":"2023-12-03T08:45:26","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T08:45:26","slug":"paul-heckingbottom-stands-by-his-work-as-sheffield-united-lose-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/soccer\/paul-heckingbottom-stands-by-his-work-as-sheffield-united-lose-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Heckingbottom stands by his work as Sheffield United lose again"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Under-fire Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom insisted he could hold his head up high after a number of fans turned on him following his side\u2019s 5-0 capitulation away to fellow strugglers Burnley.<\/p>\n
The odds on Heckingbottom becoming the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season tumbled after a humbling defeat, in which a Burnley side who started the day bottom of the table scored an opener through Jay Rodriguez just 15 seconds in and recorded their biggest top-flight win since 1970.<\/p>\n
Jacob Bruun Larsen doubled the lead and, with the Blades reduced to 10 men when Oli McBurnie was sent off before half-time, they crumbled in the second half with Zeki Amdouni, Luca Koleosho and Josh Brownhill helping Burnley end their wait for a home league win this season at the eighth attempt.<\/p>\n
United never looked in the game, and fans made their feelings known at the final whistle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI bet they\u2019re nearly as angry as me,\u201d Heckingbottom said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had this now since the beginning of September. But the one thing I can say is I can walk out of this stadium with my head held high.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how hard I work for everyone at the club. I won\u2019t change, I\u2019ll make sure the staff do the same. And we continue to give everything we\u2019ve got with what we\u2019ve got. That won\u2019t change. But, as I said the first time I was asked this, you\u2019re asking the wrong person (about his future)\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course if fans start changing, it changes the dynamic. It doesn\u2019t change how I feel or my job. I just said to the players in there, I can walk out with my head held high but you can\u2019t kid people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fans are right to shout, say that wasn\u2019t good enough. I was almost singing along with them at one point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Given Burnley were two goals to the good at the time with United barely laying a glove on them, McBurnie\u2019s red card in the first minute of stoppage time was hardly a turning point, but the Scot\u2019s two yellow cards in the space of 10 minutes killed off any hope of a comeback.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s let me down,\u201d Heckingbottom said. \u201cHe knows he has.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burnley\u2019s first home win and first clean sheet of the season lifted them off the foot of the table, and relieved some of the tension that has been building around Turf Moor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we were so desperate to do it,\u201d Kompany said. \u201cWe felt against (Crystal) Palace was good, against West Ham was good. You don\u2019t know when it\u2019s coming but I felt we always believed it was coming so for us hopefully it\u2019s a starting point.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe performance today was really good but you have to turn it into results. I just hope with the goals they\u2019ve scored today and the fact we had a lot of goalscorers as well, that\u2019s an important sign with Lyle Foster still not being there. Hopefully of the consistency of doing that will remain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both of Burnley\u2019s wins to date have come against sides they were promoted with during the summer. The challenge of taking points of established Premier League sides remains, starting away to Wolves on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have a glass of red wine tonight and then back on to Wolves, it\u2019s coming on Tuesday,\u201d Kompany said. \u201cWhen we win there\u2019s only three days to enjoy it. But we go again. It\u2019s the same recipe really.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see the boys making progress, they work as hard as the top teams in the league. They don\u2019t get the rewards for it at the moment but now we live towards the Wolverhampton game.\u201d<\/p>\n