BLADES NEED TO STIR UP BREW
SHEFFIELD UNITED caretaker boss Paul Heckingbottom is trying to unlock the mystery of £23.5million record buy Rhian Brewster.
Heckingbottom, who took charge after the Blades parted company with Chris Wilder, admits it is his priority to get more from the former Liverpool striker who has flopped since his move last October.
The England Under-21 star has failed to score in his 22 games for
United. And as the Premier League’s bottom club head to Chelsea in the FA Cup quarterfinals today, Heckingbottom wants more from the 20-year-old
“I’ve had chats with him and getting the best from him is certainly one of my aims,” he said.
“We need to get him providing the team with more off-the-ball work. He understands that.
“It’s been a difficult environment for him and he is only a young player. But he’s highly talented. He strikes such a great ball with his right foot but we have to make his role without the ball really clear.
“And if we get that work ethic it’ll buy him minutes on the pitch.
Driving
“In a game he might have the ball for two minutes max. So it’s about the other 88 minutes.
“So far he’s responded very well. We’ll keep driving him forward and hopefully get him some goals.”
Heckingbottom stepped up from his role as Under-23 boss to become caretaker until the end of the season. But he told club bosses he would only succeed Wilder if he can return to his academy job.
“I wanted to make sure that by me stepping up and helping I still had my job back there,” added Heckingbottom.
“That’s not me being negative. Maybe at some point I will go back into management, but it’s not something I’m chasing at the minute.”