Heckingbottom on injuries, new signings and improvements

16 August 2023

Paul Heckingbottom has been speaking to the media before Sheffield United's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest on Friday.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

Heckingbottom confirmed George Baldock, Max Lowe and Oli McBurnie are all in contention to face Forest, but Rhian Brewster is not ready despites progressing in his recovery and training.
With recent recruitment of players taking place since pre-season, he said many players are going to be "getting a lot of their fitness in first team minutes."
Gustavo Hamer joined from Coventry on Friday and Heckingbottom is already "pleased" with what he's seen, adding: "He is all action, loves to get on the ball, and energetic player and fearless in the final third".
On new signing Tom Davies, he said: "He was keen for a fresh start and after we spoke, he had other options but he's been holding on to see if we could do something and get the deal done."
Asked about the experience he will bring, he said: "All his minutes have been the Premier League which is great for us. No team or venue is going to phase him because that is all he knows."
He is "still hopeful" of new arrivals before the match on Friday, but added: "The work isn't going to stop regardless of when the fixtures are. We have to just do it as quickly as we can and get working with the players."
On the improvements he'd like to see after the opening day defeat to Crystal Palace, he said: "We want to have a better balance to the team. We've recruited so training has been better since the new boys came in – the character, the quality. It would have been great to have that from the start and have them match ready now."

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