04 December 2023 , 07:52
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Paul Heckingbottom believes doomed Sheffield United made 'financial rather than football decisions' during the summer transfer window.
The Blades are enduring a nightmare season. They've picked up just five points from their first 14 Premier League games and were thumped 5-0 by relegation rivals Burnley on Saturday - just seven days after fellow strugglers Bournemouth won 3-1 at Bramall Lane.
Heckingbottom is expected to be sacked in the coming days, perhaps as early as Monday. United's decline is staggering considering they won automatic promotion to the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup at Wembley last season.
Although United's form is woeful, many fans are reluctant to blame Heckingbottom. The club sold arguably their best two players during the summer, as forward Iliman Ndiaye joined boyhood team Marseille and midfielder Sander Berge moved to Burnley.
Ndiaye and Berge had entered the final year of their contracts before leaving Bramall Lane. United's Saudi owner Prince Abdullah is trying to sell the club and gave Heckingbottom barely any money to spend in the summer, making his job near impossible.
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Most United fans believe their squad is actually worse this season than last, despite their promotion. A frustrated Heckingbottom, who perhaps knows the writing is on the wall, finally took aim at United's hierarchy during his post-match interview on Saturday.
"I wanted to keep the group together but we couldn't," said Heckingbottom. "We couldn't because of the last few years and the financial implications. If we'd tied them down (on longer contracts) then we probably wouldn't have sold those players.
"There wasn't a desire from the ownership to sell, but a necessity from a business point of view. We've been making financial decisions rather than football decisions. Of course that affects me. I didn't want it to happen."
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Heckingbottom was referring to the sales of Ndiaye and Berge, as well as United's failure to re-sign star midfielder Tommy Doyle from Manchester City. Doyle joined Wolves instead as part of the deal that brought Mateus Nunes to the Etihad.
Ex-boss Chris Wilder is expected to replace Heckingbottom after patching up his frosty relationship with Prince Abdullah. Wilder remains a popular figure at Bramall Lane after guiding them from League One to the Premier League during his first spell in charge.
Heckingbottom also highlighted the amount of cash their relegation rivals have spent, with most clubs investing between £50m and £100m into their squad after promotion. "In terms of other clubs, good luck to them," added the Blades boss.
"Bournemouth last week - you go through the last four windows and we've been cutting the wage bill, transfer embargoes, selling the best assets, and they've spent £200m."
Yet Heckingbottom is refusing to give in. He continued: "We're going to face this every week, but so what? We have to embrace the challenge of this league. The players have worked hard to be here. It's not going to change. It's just an excuse, a reason to fail."