By Kieran Maguire

1st Nov, 2023 | 7:00am

Kieran Maguire: Paul Heckingbottom made a 'fall guy' at Sheffield United after sack update

Paul Heckingbottom would be a ‘convenient fall guy’ to cover up the ownership issues at Sheffield United should he become the first Premier League managerial casualty of the season.

That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that it would be a ‘shame’ for Heckingbottom to be sacked at Bramall Lane.

As revealed by Football Insider, Heckingbottom is on the verge of being sacked by Sheffield United, with former manager Chris Wilder lined up to potentially replace him.

The Blades sit bottom of the Premier League table with just one point to their name after 10 matches.

Heckingbottom achieved promotion with the Yorkshire team last season but was left with a restricted budget over the summer transfer window while owner Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud worked towards selling the club.

Maguire believes Heckingbottom’s dismissal is now being used to distract from the club’s ownership issues behind the scenes.

“They will have done a risk and reward matrix at Sheffield United,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.

“Heckingbottom did a fantastic job in getting the team and squad to the Premier League.

“There are ongoing issues with regards to the future of the ownership, which doesn’t help because it creates additional uncertainty.

“So Heckingbottom would be a very convenient fall guy and his sacking would act as a distractor.

“But as we’ve seen at other clubs, changing the manager doesn’t always change results.

“You only have to look at Birmingham City to realise that a change in manager doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to get an uptick in results.

“So I think it would be a shame.“

In other news, Sheffield United set sights on appointing Chris Wilder as Paul Heckingbottom at risk of first sacking of season