After losing to Blackburn over the weekend, Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom has said improvement is needed ahead of their clash with Reading tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Blades were away at Ewood Park and, despite having more shots and possession, fell to a 1-0 defeat. Coming after their FA Cup success against Tottenham last Wednesday, Heckingbottom admitted the result was disappointing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: “I don’t want anything about us to be average, I don\u2019t want us to go into a game and hope to win, I want us to impose ourselves and be the team that we want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We\u2019ve got good players, and I don\u2019t think anyone would be happy with our performance on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defeat to Blackburn means Sheffield United have lost three of their last five games, leaving them only four points ahead of an in-form Middlesbrough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heckingbottom said: “I\u2019m more bothered about what we produce and how we perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat gap is going to chop and change all the time, you\u2019re not going to mirror each other\u2019s results. But with a game in hand, we\u2019re in total control to make that gap bigger or not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That game in hand will be against Reading, who lost 5-0 to Middlesbrough on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite that, Paul Ince’s Reading side will be taking confidence from their strong home form. In the Championship this season, only three teams have a better points-per-home game ratio than Reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Royals defender Tom Holmes said: “It’s clear there’s a difference between our home form and our away form – that’s pretty obvious now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“But being at home does give us a lift. If we get good numbers into the stadium and put in a good performance, we give ourselves a chance.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But while the team is confident, for the fans who will be filling out Madejski Stadium on Tuesday, it is a nervous time with a possible points deduction looming that could land the club in a relegation battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n