Sheffield United were hammered 8-0 by Newcastle today as the season came to a crashing halt at Bramall Lane on Sunday afternoon.
The Blades were outrun, outfought and outplayed by a Newcastle side who could easily have got into double figures by the end as well.
And for United boss Paul Heckingbottom, there were some unacceptable aspects of the performance from his United players.
Heckingbottom slams Sheffield United players after Newcastle shambles
“A lot of the things I saw in the second half I’ve never seen here. There are certain things that aren’t acceptable, which they know. We understand the league we are in, we’ve lost three points regardless but as long as learn from the nature of the defeat and what went wrong then all we have lost is three points,” Hecky said.
“You could see moments where Newcastle out-fought us and out-ran us. That is not acceptable. We want to compete. There is still a level of competition we expect. We know they have top class players but there is an expectation from us that we are here to compete.
“The organisation is on me but it is not like we don’t work on it.
The Blades take on West Ham next week and with talk of a Chris Wilder return making the news last week, there is now some pressure on the United boss.
Sheffield United News View: Season defining week coming
How the entire club reacts this week is going to be huge. Heckingbottom, the players, the board, the fans, everyone. It will define how we are go for the rest of the year.
For the first time, Heckingbottom is under a bit of pressure. Yes, one game doesn’t make a season but an 8-0 home defeat is not just any old loss.
A huge week, then, for Sheffield United. A heavy defeat against the Hammers next week could, in theory, mean the end for Hecky.