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Paul Heckingbottom urges Sheff Utd to "get in Chelsea's face"

Paul Heckingbottom urges Sheff Utd to
© Reuters
The Blades stunned Manchester United back in January.

Paul Heckingbottom has told his Sheffield United side their shock win at Manchester United proves it is possible to knock Chelsea out of the FA Cup.

The Blades, the Premier League's bottom side, sprung a major surprise in January when they triumphed 2-1 at Old Trafford, inflicting the hosts' first defeat in 14 league matches.

With Heckingbottom now in caretaker charge until the end of the season following boss Chris Wilder's departure last weekend, the team on Sunday play away against a Chelsea outfit who are unbeaten in 13 matches in all competitions under manager Thomas Tuchel.

The quarter-final contest comes four days on from the Blues beating LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge as they advanced into the last eight of the Champions League.

Heckingbottom, who oversaw a 5-0 loss at Leicester in his first match in charge on Sunday, said: "It (Chelsea's tie against Atletico Madrid) shows the size of the task. But it's also a one-off game.

"Everyone wrote this team off before they went to Old Trafford and pulled off the win there. So we know the size of the task, but we also know it's possible. That's it, simple. If we didn't think it was possible, we may as well give them the round.

"It's a fantastic experience, a great game to play in and they don't come around very often – no matter how long your career is, quarter-finals of the FA Cup don't come around often."

Chelsea progressed to the FA Cup last eight via a 1-0 win at Heckingbottom's old club Barnsley.

And when asked about the problems the Tykes caused Tuchel's men in that tie, Heckingbottom said: "The pitch was certainly a leveller, but the biggest thing Barnsley did in that game, and the teams who have competed and made it difficult for them – it's been their energy, the willingness to play on the front foot and go and get in Chelsea's face.

"But if I'm honest, Chelsea to me have gone up another level as well, so we need more than that. We need to have that energy, we need to have that discipline, we can't be embarrassed by trying to outwork them, but also when we get the ball, we have to be good enough to hurt them as well.

"That's the emphasis and that's the message that we've been trying to work on this week."

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Premier League
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City31235366214574
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd30179458332560
3Leicester CityLeicester30175853341956
4Chelsea30149746301651
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs30147951321949
6Liverpool30147951361549
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham29147845351049
8Everton28144104037346
9Aston Villa291351142311144
10Arsenal30126124035542
11Leeds UnitedLeeds30133144748-142
12Crystal Palace29107123147-1637
13Southampton30106143953-1436
14Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2998122838-1035
15Burnley3089132440-1633
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton30711123338-532
17Newcastle UnitedNewcastle3078153050-2029
18Fulham31511152441-1726
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom3049172559-3421
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3042241752-3514

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