Paul Heckingbottom says Sheffield United's draw with Nottingham Forest 'felt like relegation' but he preaches perspective

The Blades were far from their best, particularly in a sloppy first half, but looked like they were going to get away with it when Wes Foderingham saved Brennan Johnson's poor first-half penalty, Steve Cook hit the crossbar and Billy Sharp put the hosts in front.

But Ryan Yates scored a header from a corner in the fifth added minute.

"It's a sickener, a kick in the teeth," admitted manager Heckingbottom.

"It's flat, it hurts, of course it does.

"It's a 1-1 draw but the timing of the goal, the nature of the goal means one team come off feeling like they've won the FA Cup, the other like they've been relegated. But it's a 1-1 draw.

"They were the better team first half, we were the better team second half."

Of Sharp's goal, set up by Morgan Gibbs-White, he said: "It was a fantastic ball, he pulls off the centre-back and it was a really good header.

"He's meant it, he's guided it back. He can't do much more than use the pace of the ball because he's leaning but it's all about the direction."

The draw put Sheffield United into the play-off places with the chasers to play over the weekend.

"It's irrelevant now but the games have evened themselves up and the league's even, barring Bournemouth, so we're there on merit now and from where we were it's a fantastic position for us to be in," he reflected. "It just means every game gets bigger and bigger.

"You've always got to find a way but before we had good options, I was leaving some really good players out not only of the XI but the squad.

"Now the lads were joking in the dressing room, Oli McBurnie was the fifth oldest in the dressing room at 25 but it's the opportunity for someone to step up and someone has to step up or we'll fizzle out.

"The dynamic of the team changed a hell of a lot, you could see that first half."

Sharp took a hefty kick just before he came off, but Heckingbottom does not anticipate any problems for Tuesday's game at home to Chris Wilder's Middlesbrough.