“Harsh reality” – Sheffield United’s Paul Heckingbottom issues Reda Khadra warning after Birmingham City agreement | OneFootball

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom has warned Reda Khadra that he will have hurdles to overcome at Birmingham City after seeing his loan spell at Bramall Lane come to an end.

Khadra made only 15 appearances in the Championship for the Blades, with the Brighton loanee scoring once in a 1-0 win over Swansea City. Four of his 15 appearances were starts, with the last of those, at Bristol City, seeing Heckingbottom hook the 21-year-old on only 34 minutes.

Heckingbottom’s favoured 3-5-2 system also offered no obvious place for Khadra, who was forced to play as a both a second striker and a wing-back in a bid to shoehorn him into the side.

On the back of his Sheffield United loan being terminated and Birmingham swooping for his service, Heckingbottom has had his say on Khadra, highlighting how he failed where James McAtee succeeded at Bramall Lane in overcoming adversity to play more.

“I think he struggled a bit with the disappointment of not playing, but there was no better example than [James McAtee] in terms of a loan player having to fight his way in,” Heckingbottom said, as quoted by the Sheffield Star.

There was also something of a warning from Heckingbottom, who outlined how Khadra may find similar hurdles to overcome at Birmingham. A challenge that his former head coach encouraged him to meet head on or find himself at a lower level.

Heckingbottom continued: “The harsh reality, getting dragged at half time and having to learn a new position.. They’re the qualities you want to see, that’s what Reda has been pushed on and I’ve spoken to him about doing the same at his next club. Otherwise you become a player when you find a level where you’re the best player and you know you’re going to play every week.”

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The Verdict

You can always count on Heckingbottom not to pull any punches.

He was obviously disappointed to lose Khadra and the way the loan went, yet he was fully understanding of his decision to move on to a new challenge with Birmingham.

Heckingbottom says it how it is, though, addressing the fact he hasn’t really seen the traits in Khadra that he did in McAtee when it came to working his way into the side.

The warning dealt is quite an appropriate one, too.