Tottenham Hotspur at the back of my mind, insists Sheffield United boss after Billy Sharp antics against Wrexham
Tuesday night certainly wasn’t, when two teams separated by 72 places in the football pyramid fought out an open, occasionally frantic and often feisty FA Cup fourth-round replay.
Sheffield United of the Championship may have eventually got the better of Wrexham of the National League in the end, but they needed all of the 90 minutes and more to do so on each occasion; Jon Egan equalising at the Racecourse Ground to force the replay, and Billy Sharp and Sander Berge winning the tie for United in time added on at the Bramall Lane.
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Hide AdIt wasn’t Sharp’s goal that took the headlines, it was what he said and did in the immediate aftermath.
First he mocked Wrexham fans by pretending to sob, then he said in a televised interview with broadcasters that the non-league side had ‘disrespected’ his team, before then going into the tunnel and - according to Wrexham captain Ben Tozer – telling opponents to “shove it in the documentary” – referring to Disney+ programme ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
“I said to him face-to-face to show a bit more humility,” said Tozer.
Paul Heckingbottom, the Sheffield United manager, had his own version of events, but chose to not elaborate too greatly.
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Hide Ad"There is a way to win and there is a way to lose. I'm not interested in it,” is all he would say.
The drama distracted from what eventually was a job successfully negotiated for United, who can now look forward to a fifth-round tie at Bramall Lane against Tottenham on Wednesday, March 1.
Heckingbottom wants fixtures against Spurs to become a regular occurrence in the Premier League, meaning the four Championship games before then against Swansea, Middlesbrough, Millwall and Watford are of far greater importance.
"I'm not even thinking about it. It's in the back of my mind,” said Heckingbottom, whose Blades hold a 10-point cushion on Boro in third having played a game fewer.
“My focus has been on this game. We will now switch to Swansea, and then to Millwall...
"We have got so many big games before. That's our focus.”