Paul Heckingbottom has shown he already knows how to steer Sheffield United to promotion glory

Sheffield United return to Championship action on Saturday away at Stoke in the first of eight huge games that will determine their promotion destiny. Paul Heckingbottom and his men are hoping to end the season in one of the top six places and are firmly in the mix to achieve just that, sitting in fifth place as they return from the final international break.

It promises to be an exciting and nail-biting finish in equal measure with only six points separating third-placed Luton from 10th-place Millwall. United will need to show plenty of nerve as well as skill to successfully navigate their way through these remaining fixtures, four of which involve teams eyeing promotion themselves.

Heckingbottom is no stranger to this type of scenario. In fact, he faced an almost identical situation during his first managerial stint with Barnsley during the 2015-16 season, guiding his hometown club to promotion via the League One play-offs.

Back then, Barnsley headed into the international break at the end of March in seventh place, two points behind sixth-placed Bradford with seven games remaining. Very similar to his form here, he had lost just two games at this stage after replacing Lee Johnson in the Oakwell dugout.

However, the Reds would lose just one of those remaining seven matches, winning three and finishing in the final play-off spot on goal difference on the final day of the season, with Conor Hourihane on the scoresheet in a 4-1 win at Wigan. Incidentally, the team they pipped to sixth place was Scunthorpe, who beat United at Bramall Lane in a game that marked the end for Nigel Adkins and the infamous lap of shame.

Convincing 3-0 and 3-1 semi-final successes over Walsall secured a place at Wembley against Millwall,