Sheffield United not looking to sack Paul Heckingbottom despite Newcastle rout
Sheffield United have no immediate plans to sack Paul Heckingbottom after the club suffered their heaviest league defeat when they were hammered 8-0 by Newcastle.
The Blades were put to the sword by a rampant Newcastle to go six games without a win on their Premier League return, but Heckingbottom’s job is currently safe, the PA news agency understands.
There has been speculation linking former boss Chris Wilder to a Bramall Lane return, but even this embarrassing defeat will not change the board’s position.
When asked whether he will be the manager for the next game, he said: “Yes, 100 per cent.
“This might be a theme now by the looks of it. I can’t answer any of that, the game, the players, my department, yeah no problem, but things like that you are asking the wrong man.”
Heckingbottom, who guided the club to promotion last season, has overseen a difficult few days following the death of women’s player Maddy Cusack earlier in the week.
The midfielder, who also worked for the club’s marketing department, was just 27 and the club were left “devastated”.
And the boss admits he will be glad to see the back of a horrible week.
There were poignant pre-match tributes to Cusack and Heckingbottom said: “It has affected a lot of people, there were tears on the pitch before the game.
“But we were determined to end what has been a really tough week strongly and we weren’t able to do that. It has been a tough week for everyone at the club and one we want over.”
The Magpies rewrote the history books, registering their biggest away win and also becoming the first Premier League side to have eight different players score in a game.
Eddie Howe’s side, who endured a difficult start to the season, now look like they are clicking and performed superbly on the back of their midweek Champions League trip to AC Milan.
They did not take their foot off the gas in the second half as they racked up the goals and that was the most pleasing thing for the boss.
Howe said: “It has been a great week for us. That is football for you.
“Before the Brentford game, we knew the importance of that game, a massive point in the week and great to see us back to our very best today.
“I never doubted us in the final third, we have got some outstanding players, and we have had a very tough start to the season in terms of fixtures, but today we were ruthless and kept looking to score, which is they key thing.
“We respect Sheffield United and Paul Heckingbottom and the job he has done here but we just had to do our thing and keep pushing and trying to score goals.
“We weren’t aware of anything during the game regarding the records. We were just trying to keep pushing the lads to keep scoring goals, having that mentality and desire that we want in every game.
“We want to attack well, we want to entertain and be good value when people come and watch us play. One of our fundamental beliefs is that we are always looking to score.
“With top-quality players, results like this can happen, but very rarely, that is why we will enjoy it tonight.
“You hope this ignites something in us and we try to repeat, not the scoreline, but the performance on a regular basis. That is our aim, but the Premier League is very difficult.”
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Martino looking to Suarez's influence with Messi involvement still unsure
Miami head coach Gerardo Martino is hoping Luis Suarez's influence can inspire the team to victory once again when they welcome Philadelphia Union to Chase Stadium.
The Herons have already clinched an MLS playoff place and recorded an impressive 4-1 victory over Chicago Fire last time out.
Suarez scored twice in his last two matches, propelling Miami to 59 points on top of the Eastern Conference, and Martino has been impressed with how the Uruguayan has led the line.
"Luis was probably the best player on the field [against Chicago], but I don't want to focus only on the goals because that is normal for him," he said.
"I prefer to focus on his game as a whole, the ball circulation and all the passes to midfielders and, because of that, we can play in other parts of the field. He did that very well."
Miami have been without talisman Lionel Messi since MLS action returned due to an ankle injury he sustained in the Copa America final, but Julian Gressel believes he could be back soon.
"It's nice to see [Messi] back out there," Gressel told the Player/Manager podcast. "If you can add a guy like that after what we've done over the past two months, it's certainly going to be an interesting kind of finish to the end here."
Meanwhile, Philadelphia are 11th in the standings but got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over New York Red Bulls last time out.
Head coach Jim Curtin was pleased to grind out the win but believes there are still improvements to be made.
"We were all disappointed with losing to a very strong Columbus team, but I had a good response [against New York RB]," Curtin said.
"I think big picture wise, if you look at the first 15 minutes of [the New York] game, that's us at our best. We have it in us, and now the challenge is to sustain it for all 90."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Inter Miami – Luis Suarez
Since the return of MLS action following the Leagues Cup break, Suarez has been running defences riot, scoring braces against both Cincinnati and Chicago Fire.
Against the Fire last weekend, he had the most shots (nine), shots on target (five), big chances (three) and touches in the opposition box (10), proving a constant threat in just under 80 minutes.
Philadelphia Union – Mikael Uhre
Mikael Uhre returned to the scoresheet against the New York Red Bulls last time out, netting his seventh goal of the season, the joint-second-highest tally in the team this season.
He is also known for his creative ability though, as his assist for Tai Baribo was his fifth of the campaign, with only Kai Wagner playing on more.
MATCH PREDICTION: INTER MIAMI WIN
Miami have recorded wins in each of their last two matches against the Union in all competitions. The Herons had won just two of their first eight all-time matches against Philadelphia (D2 L4).
Miami are just the second team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to record 15 wins in a span of 19 matches in a single regular season (after Seattle Sounders in 2018). No team in the post-shootout era has won 16 times in a span of 20 matches within a single regular season.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia snapped a four-match regular-season road losing streak with a 2-0 win at the Red Bulls on August 31. Those four losses are the Union's only road defeats of the regular season in 2024 (W4 D5).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Inter Miami – 51.8%
Draw – 24.6%
Philadelphia Union – 23.6%
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McClaren basks in first win as Reggae Boyz edge Honduras to keep quarterfinal hopes alive
Steve McClaren is savouring his first victory since taking the reins as Jamaica’s senior Reggae Boyz head coach after they secured a 2-1 win over Honduras in hostile territory, a scoreline that kept their Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal hopes alive.
The hard-fought League A battle in Tegucigalpa on Tuesday saw McClaren's men step up under immense pressure, especially following their opening draw against Cuba, which meant they had to rebound to improve their chances of finishing in the top two.
A 49th-minute own goal by Denil Maldonado and Michail Antonio’s 76th-minute penalty got the job done for the Boyz, who moved to the top of the Group B standings on four points, the same as Nicaragua, who were held to a 1-1 stalemate by Cuba. Honduras, who had their goal from David Ruiz in the 50th minute, were relegated to third on three points, with Cuba (two points), French Guiana (one point), and Trinidad and Tobago (one point) rounding out the group.
McClaren, who took charge of the team ahead of the tournament, credited the victory to the team’s blend of youth and experience.
“We had Premier League players out there, Ethan Pinnock, Antonio, and others, but we also had some new players coming on. We gave an opportunity to Norman Campbell, and yeah, he persisted and got us the first goal, then introduced Kaheim Dixon. So we had on the field a really nice blend of personalities of the older guys, looking after the younger guys,” McClaren said in a post-match press conference.