Paul Heckingbottom keeping Sheffield United perspective does not mean brushing defeats under the carpet

But neither has he brushed consecutive losses to Middlesbrough and Millwall under the carpet.

The Blades host Watford on Saturday looking to avoid a third straight defeat for the first time since Heckingbotto m became their full-time manager in November 2021.

"Keeping perspective is a real important thing," he insisted.

"If they were doing something wrong they'd expect me to change. Sometimes it's the case when we've won. Being clear on what you expect in a good performance is important.

"If you're producing something that nine times out of 10 you believe is going to get you a result, that time it doesn't, you can't go mad at it. Likewise if you're delivering stuff you think you're going to be lucky to get away with, you've got to try and correct it even though you might have won.

"There may be something important comes out of a game, a real clear message to an individual, a unit or the team which needs nailing down and dealing with.

"Demeanours and attitudes change around games because I think they have to."

On what went wrong at Millwall, where the Blades lost 3-2, Heckingbottom said: "We had a couple of moments where we lacked composure. That part of our game has won us a lot of points.

"We need to address that because we're going to be in that position again. There'll be moments where we're going to be pushing but we can't push with a lack of good decision-making.

"The effort was top class, the mentality to get back into that game was top class, but we maybe pushed them that little bit too far and lost composure."

The Blades began this season with defeat at Watford having ended 2021-22 by losing a penalty shoot-out at Nottingham Forest in the play-off semi-finals. After Vicarage Road came a 10-match unbeaten run in the league.

"The response was good, which is what we expected," said Heckingbottom who will shuffle a squad with no fresh injuries. "We're trying to live up to our expectations, no one else's. I think that's helped us minimise any distractions."