Paul Heckingbottom reveals Oli McBurnie refused to be denied Sheffield United start by sickness bug

In the absence of the injured Billy Sharp, the centre-forward was one of a number of impressive performers from the home side, whose performance was better than their 1-0 scoreline, with Heckingbottom critical of their failure to turn possession into chances.

But McBurnie's was an excellent performance, given a standing ovation by a crowd oblivious at that stage to the background when he came off after 73 impressive minutes.

"He's had some bad luck," said Heckingbottom of a striker he signed when he was Barnsley manager. "He would have started at the weekend if it weren't for a thigh strain.

"He's had moments where he's been battling through, making himself available for the bench.

"He was actually throwing up with a stomach bug today but if he'd declared himself fit I was going to start him and just get out of him what I could.

"He managed to keep some food down pre-match.

"I knew he wouldn't last but I thought his performance was excellent in terms of leading the line and being a target.

"I'm pleased for him but everyone needs to know what he has been doing and how he has put himself forward.

"He's been working hard. We've laid it out to him what we expect and what it's going to take for him to get there. There's no shying away from it, it's hard work.

"He's bought into it and had to be patient but he's missed opportunities for different reasons so he was adamant he wasn't going to miss this one."

The only frustration was that he did not have more to work off, with promising-looking through-balls just cut out or overhit and crosses failing to find their man. That the Blades only had nine shots on goal was incredible considering the quality of their play in the middle of the pitch, and of Morgan Gibbs-White playing off McBurnie.

It made the clean sheet they kept invaluable.

"I thought we played well and were good value for the 1-0, got in some really good positions as the game wore on and started the second half well," commented the manager.

"Probably the only criticism was we didn't create enough chances off the back of the good play we were having and when we were winning the ball high.

"Whilever that happens and you're only one goal in it, you know at some point you know you're going to have to weather a storm. Teams are going to take chances, they're going to put bodies higher up the pitch, play forward more.

"If we'd capitalised with one of the breaks we had, for instance when Morgan went through, things would have been lot simpler but the fact it wasn't meant we had to rely on that defensive solidity. There were lots of good examples of it from different players.

"Any win when you're playing someone around you is big, of course it is.

"It gets even bigger at this business end of the season and with what's at stake. It's a big win, a good win. I was pleased with lots of things I saw."

The game saw a debut for Croatian centre-back Filip Uremovic, signed in the March international break because his contract with Russian club Rubin Kazan as been suspended as a consequence of the invasion of Ukraine.

It was a solid debut, unsurprisingly brought to an end after 63 minutes by cramp.

"I watched two games yesterday with him playing against Mbappe and people like that. He's played against players you'll never see play in the Championship.

"He's got experience and mental qualities. What he's not got is experience of the Championship.

"I had no reservations about his football and his quality.

"It's the slower nature of the Russian Premier League. It's a lot slower with an emphasis on possession. If you can't see a forward pass before you receive it, generally your first touch is backwards, which means you're always going to pass backwards.

"In this league, if that first touch is backwards you're inviting a press.

"He was cramping. While aerobically he's very good, and we've had him in training with us for a few days and we put him on the bench as soon as we could it's just his first game in a month so we half-expected it.

"Emotionally it's different. It's his debut and a big game because regardless of the 26,000 here and chasing a potential Premier League place, it's a big thing not only to us but people all over the world.

"This is one of the biggest leagues in the world so it was significant for him personally."

The win saw Sheffield United move up to fifth, with sixth-placed Middlesbrough at home to Fulham on Wednesday.