Paul Heckingbottom reveals Manchester United insight he is using at Sheffield United

Taking the step up from academy football to the first team is something that Paul Heckingbottom knows well, having signed for Manchester United at 14-years-old before leaving two years later for Sunderland, where he started taking steps into senior football. 

Sheffield United’s Oliver Norwood is another who started his career with Manchester United despite not getting any first team playing time with the Old Trafford club.

Both Heckingbottom and Norwood have gone on to have successful careers and managed the adaptation to men’s football although it’s not always that easy for everyone.

However, having worked in the academy at Manchester United before coming up to the first team, Heckingbottom knows what it’s like and he says he has brought elements of what he learnt during his short time with the Red Devils to Bramall Lane as he told Yorkshire Live: “The one thing I have taken with me is certainly the hard work aspect.

“I know with Eric Harrison and Pop Robson, for example, we didn’t half work hard.

“I was at United [Manchester] at a fantastic time when everybody wanted to beat us. If you were in the B team the opposition would put their A team against you and if you were in the A team they would put their reserves against us.

“So we had a really good upbringing like that in terms of how teams want to raise their game against you so your standards have to be even higher.

“There was nothing wrong with that survival of the fittest mentality and how tough this game is to get past people and compete. That helped me in my playing career and certainly helps me in my coaching.

“It needs to be a tough jump [from the academy to the first team], our standards should be high. We spoke about it a lot when I first came in seeing the