Sheffield United won promotion back to the Premier League last night with a brilliant second half display seeing them beat West Brom 2-0.
Goals from Sander Berge and Anel Ahmedhodzic ensured United stormed back into the top flight after narrowly missing out in the playoff semi-finals last season.
Attention will now turn to how Paul Heckingbottom strengthens his squad ahead of August. Off the field issues, too, must be resolved to ensure a smooth season for the Blades.
Turnaround
Of course, Heckingbottom deserves huge credit for taking United up. After taking over from Slavisa Jokanovic with United down in 16th, ‘Hecky’ has amassed a 50%+ win rate on a limited budget. The Jokanovic experiment simply never worked and Heckingbottom has picked up the baton tremendously.
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But rather than be bitter about anything, Serbian coach Jokanovic was delighted to see United go up. Taking to Twitter, the former Blades boss put out a nice and classy message to Hecky and his troops.
Jokanovic is now managing over in Russia with Dynamo Moscow. He was an expensive appointment by United and despite some promising performances at times, failed to galvanise the squad.
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Despite the obvious failure Jokanovic delivered at Sheffield United, in hindsight, it might have helped.
Comments about a drop in training standards have resonated with the experienced players in the squad and it seems there’s been a determination under Hecky and McCall to not go back to that level. Further, Jokanovic – like Heckingbottom – trusted in Iliman Ndiaye right from the off. Had Jokanovic not been here and given him regular starts, we might not be seeing the player we see now.
Ultimately, Jokanovic’s reign just never worked out. But it’s all part of a journey and his message here shows a touch of class.
