If this was to be Paul Heckingbottom’s last stand, he refused to go down wondering.
No Sheffield United player was spared. Their manager has chosen to hold his tongue for much of this season, careful not to break a fragile group, but humiliation at Burnley proved too much.
Heckingbottom had to be calmed down eventually and the sight of Oli McBurnie, whose sending off let down his team, skulking off to the coach with eyes fixed on the ground told a story of how the debrief had gone. Behind within 15 seconds, their target man red carded before half-time and a lack of what Heckingbottom called ‘bravery’ thereafter saw the Blades sink to the bottom of the pile.