Sheffield United: ‘Starstruck’ rookies getting their chance under Paul Heckingbottom

Of course, Heckingbottom is now at the Championship coalface as first-team manager and at a key time of year, he also understands the shortcomings in terms of having a dressing room with its fair share of rookies as opposed to senior professionals well used to the business end of a season.

United are in a scenario where the small percentages are likely to matter amid an intense play-off race where seniority, character and resolve will play a part.

Heckingbottom, whose selection hand is being forced by the absence of a plethora of senior players due to injury – he handed a debut from the bench to young striker Will Osula in the goalless draw at Blackpool – said: “The (young) players are good, but when you have so many, it’s a different vibe.

“I am not being critical and it is great for their experience, but you imagine a dressing room of senior boys who have been at it and you come to a place like this (Blackpool) and you have 200 games under your belt and how vocal it is with things going off.

“We had five or six sat there who are starstruck a little bit. It is great for them going forward, but I’d rather them have earned it and got past people. Listen, it will be great for them and their families, but let’s get it right, I’d love to be earning their place on the bench and getting past the other 14 first-team players who are out injured,

“But that’s where we find ourselves. Ky (Gordon) has stepped in and it will be good for him.”

Furious at the chalking off of two goals which he saw as legitimate at Blackpool, Heckingbottom hopes for some fortune to start favouring United, who host his old club Barnsley tomorrow .

In terms of availability, he is likely to have to pick from a similar squad before the international break provides some time to get some injured players back.

He added: “We will get some going our way – we better do...

“It is tough at the minute when I see what the players are giving and me and the staff are working hard and we’d love to have the luxury of giving them a rest or a shake-up or leave them out to get them energised and put them back in and make changes from the bench. But we are not.”