Sheffield United's Paul Heckingbottom says Reda Khadra's substitution was 'my fault, not his'

With Bristol City dominating midfield, Khadra was withdrawn and replaced by James McAtee after just 34 minutes. The Blades went on to claim a somewhat fortuitous 1-0 win.

With no good reason, first-half substitutions of that type carry a bit of a stigma, but Heckingbottom was in no mood to use the on-loan Brighton and Hove Albion player as a scapegoat, and says there has been no fall-out from it.

"Nothing's changed because of that game, it was purely tactical," he said when asked about Khadra.

"I didn't put him in his best position, we need to be on top to see the best from him.

"We had no control of the game so him not getting in the positions was not his fault.

"We only had Flecky (John Fleck) and Ollie (Norwood) as recognised central midfielders and I knew Flecky was going to struggle to last the game.

"We had to go to a three. I was holding and holding for something to change but I'd have kicked myself if I hadn't (made the substitution) because we had to get control."

It is fair to say the Blades have not seen the best of the German Under-21 international across the season as a whole, with Khadra restricted to just four league starts and one goal.

Robins manager Nigel Pearson further stirred the pot by calling the "high maintenance" forward "a huge disappointment".

"He's been fine with us," insisted Heckingbottom. "We've had no issues with him whatsoever."

The Blades host leaders Burnley in the Championship on Saturday.