It’s all change at Sheffield United with Slavisa Jokanovic having been named as manager.
Jokanovic will lead the Blades in the Championship next season after signing a three-year contract at the club.
The 52-year-old will be tasked with trying to get United promoted back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Having achieved the feat twice previously with Watford and Fulham, Jokanovic certainly has a good track record.
But what does that mean for the man who guided the Blades at the end of this campaign?
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Paul Heckingbottom stepped up from his role as Under-23s boss to take caretaker charge of United when Chris Wilder left in March.
While Heckingbottom couldn’t avoid the inevitable drop, the board were impressed with how he conducted himself.
In fact, the 43-year-old was even considered as the permanent successor to Wilder.
However, there were concerns about some performances under him and they’ve now instead turned to Jokanovic.
The Sheffield Star reports that there has been no word as yet from the club about whether Heckingbottom will return to his previous role with the academy.
He has sent a message of support to Jokanovic and spoken about his time at the helm.
Is Paul Heckingbottom staying at Sheffield United under Slavisa Jokanovic?
Jokanovic is yet to announce who his backroom staff will be, although that doesn’t necessarily affect Heckingbottom.
The academy is instead managed by Jack Lester.
The question is, whether Heckingbottom will want to return to first team football after this latest experience?
He has of course previously managed the likes of Barnsley, Leeds United and Hibernian.
Heckingbottom also admitted before Jokanovic’s appointment that he did indeed want to get back to management.
However, he also spoke about moving back into his role in the Blades’ youth system.
But would he stay if a managerial job was offered to him? Heckingbottom is sure to be more on clubs’ radars following his time as interim.
If he were to leave it would be a blow to the Under-23s. Yet Heckingbottom would depart with the best wishes of most fans after stepping up during a difficult period for the club.
