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Paul Heckingbottom (born 17 July 1977) is an English football coach and former player who is currently manager of
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
side
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
. Heckingbottom played as a defender for several English clubs, including Sunderland,
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
,
Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...
, Darlington,
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
,
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...
,
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
, Barnsley and
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
. After retiring as a player, Heckingbottom trained as a coach. He obtained a position with Barnsley's development squad and, after a successful spell as caretaker manager in which the club won promotion and the EFL Trophy, he was appointed manager in 2016. In February 2018 he moved to
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, but he was sacked during the 2018 close season after 16 games in charge. Heckingbottom then managed
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
club Hibernian, but was sacked in November 2019. In March 2021, he was appointed interim manager of
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
until the end of the season. After returning to the U23's, he was appointed manager 25 November 2021, once again, on a four-a-and-half year deal following the sacking of
Slaviša Jokanović Slaviša Jokanović ( sr-Cyrl, Славиша Јокановић, ; born 16 August 1968) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of Russian club Dynamo Moscow. A physical player considered strong in the a ...
.


Career


Early career

Heckingbottom was born in Barnsley and grew up in nearby Royston. As a child, he was a season-ticket holder at the town's football club, along with his grandfather. He started his football career at Manchester United as a trainee, but joined Sunderland in 1995 after failing to gain a professional contract. He had loan spells at
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
,
Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...
and Darlington, without featuring for Sunderland, before joining Darlington permanently in 1999. He made 126 appearances, scoring 6 goals, before catching the attention of First Division side
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, who signed him in 2002 on a three-year contract. Heckingbottom made just 16 appearances for Norwich, including only 7 starts, resulting in him cancelling his contract with the club by mutual consent after one year. He subsequently signed for
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...
in July 2003, and was named their Player of the Year at the end of his first season. Bradford, however, were relegated to
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
at the end of the 2003–04 season, and Heckingbottom left to join
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
during the close season.


Sheffield Wednesday

Heckingbottom was well favoured under both Wednesday managers Chris Turner and
Paul Sturrock Paul Whitehead Sturrock (born 10 October 1956) is a Scottish former football coach and former player. As a player, Sturrock spent his entire senior career with Dundee United, making more than five hundred appearances between 1974 and 1989. He w ...
, making a total of 41 appearances at left back in his first season – more than any other player that year. He also scored four goals, helping the Owls to promotion to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
via the play-off final at the end of the 2004–05 season. Due to an injury sustained in pre-season he was put out of contention for the first 16 games of the 2005–06 season. When he returned to fitness, new signing John Hills had begun to make the left back spot his own. An injury to Hills left Heckingbottom able to re-stake his claim on the team, but he only managed a 4-game streak before once again succumbing to injury, this time Peter Gilbert taking his place in the squad. Sturrock allowed Heckingbottom a chance to prove himself in an
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
Third Round game against
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
. He scored both of Wednesday's goals in the 4–2 defeat at Hillsborough, though this was not enough to establish himself as the club's first-choice left back.


Barnsley

On 13 January 2006, Heckingbottom was sent on
loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...
, with a view to a permanent move, to his boyhood club Barnsley. He played an important part in the club's promotion campaign and win over Swansea City in the League One play-off final, scoring in the 4–3
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
victory that secured their promotion to the Championship. Heckingbottom played in 31 games for Barnsley the next season, as they comfortably avoided relegation. He scored once during his spell at Barnsley, in a 1–0 win over
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
on 18 February 2006.


Bradford City

In July 2007, Heckingbottom returned to
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...
on loan until 1 January 2008. He played in all 23 league games during his loan spell, missing only an FA Cup tie against Tranmere Rovers through suspension following a red card in a 1–1 draw with
Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...
. A week after his loan deal expired, his contract at Barnsley was cancelled by mutual consent and he signed a permanent 18-month deal at Bradford City. He missed his first league game of the 2007–08 season with four games left, when an ankle injury prevented him from playing against Brentford on 12 April 2008. Heckingbottom's place was taken by
Luke O'Brien Luke O'Brien (born 11 September 1988) is an English retired professional footballer. Career Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, on 11 September 1988, O'Brien attended Holy Trinity Senior School in the town. His younger brother, Adam O'Brien, is a ...
, who made his Bradford debut in a 2–2 draw. He played in the club's first nine league games of the 2008–09 season, but was sent off in a 1–1 draw with
Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
for two bookable offences. His place was again taken by youngster O'Brien, and although Heckingbottom returned for an FA Cup game against
Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
, he suffered
tendonitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tennis e ...
which kept him out for five months. Bradford opted against offering Heckingbottom a contract extension, and he left the club in May 2009.


Non-league career

Heckingbottom signed for Conference National club
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...
on 2 June 2009, marking his first foray into the game outside the Football League. He sustained a
hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...
injury in pre-season and did not play until October, in a 1–0 win over
Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
, 11 months from when he last played a game of football. He became a regular in the Mansfield line-up. He scored his first and only Mansfield goal against
Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...
on 14 November 2009. On 1 February 2010, Heckingbottom joined Gateshead on loan until the end of the season. making his debut on 13 February away at Hayes & Yeading United. Heckingbottom signed for Gateshead on a permanent basis on 26 May 2010. He made 23 appearances in all competitions during the 2010–11 season before he was released on 4 May 2011. He spent the 2011–12 season with
Harrogate Town Harrogate Town A.F.C. is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the Sulphurites, due to the ...
, making 21 appearances in the
Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...
without scoring.


Coaching career


Barnsley

Heckingbottom took the opportunity to gain an academic understanding of football coaching, to set his CV apart from other managers competing for jobs. He completed his BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching at Leeds Metropolitan University in 2013, followed by an MSc in Sport Coaching in 2016, by which point the university had been renamed
Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...
. He went on to work as a coach with professional club Barnsley's development squad, and was appointed caretaker manager of the first team after Danny Wilson was sacked in 2015. He was not appointed on a permanent basis in favour of Lee Johnson, though was appointed in the caretaker manager role once again the following year after Johnson left to manage
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
. During the latter spell, he guided Barnsley to a 3–2 win against
Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
in the Football League Trophy final and promotion to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
by beating
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
3–1 in the League One play-off final. His success as caretaker, leading Barnsley to their first cup final victory since 1912 and promotion to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
, led to his being appointed head coach on a permanent basis. The good form and results continued for the first half of the 2016–17 Championship season, as the club ended 2016 in ninth position. Heckingbottom was awarded Sports Hero of the Year by ''
The Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...
''. Heckingbottom signed a new rolling contract at Barnsley on 2 February 2018, but he left the club days later to take a similar position with
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
.


Leeds United

On 6 February 2018, Heckingbottom was announced as the new head coach of Leeds United on an 18-month contract. In his first match as head coach, Leeds lost 2–1 to
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
, and finished 13th in the
2017–18 EFL Championship The 2017–18 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of the EFL Championship under its current name, and the twenty-sixth season under its current league structure. Team changes T ...
league table. Heckingbottom blooded youngster
Bailey Peacock-Farrell Bailey Peacock-Farrell (born 29 October 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Burnley. Born and raised in England, he plays international football for Northern Ireland. Peacock-Farrell played in Middlesbrough's ...
as first-choice goalkeeper and also gave debuts to academy players Tom Pearce, Paudie O'Connor, Hugo Díaz and Ryan Edmondson. Heckingbottom integrated further academy players with the first team during a controversial post-season tour of
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. Heckingbottom was sacked by Leeds on 1 June 2018, after just four months with the club, and was succeeded by
Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...
.


Hibernian

Heckingbottom was appointed
head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
of
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
club Hibernian on 13 February 2019. The club went on an unbeaten league run, and Heckingbottom won the Premiership Manager of the Month award for March 2019. Two days later, Heckingbottom won his first Edinburgh derby match as Hibs manager against Hearts at Tynecastle. Hibs finished in fifth position, but Heckingbottom was unhappy that the team "downed tools" in the last few matches of the season. Hibs won only one of their first eleven league matches in the 2019–20 season. Heckingbottom was sacked on 4 November following a 5–2 defeat by Celtic in a League Cup semi-final, with the team sitting in 10th place in the league.


Sheffield United

Heckingbottom was appointed as under-23s lead coach at
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
in July 2020. After first-team manager Chris Wilder left the club by mutual consent in March 2021, with the team bottom of the Premier League and 12 points adrift of safety, Heckingbottom took interim charge until the end of the season. United lost 5–0 to
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
in his first match in charge, and relegation to the Championship was confirmed after four more defeats. Sheffield United won three of their last six matches, and Heckingbottom was reportedly shortlisted for the permanent position, but former Fulham manager
Slaviša Jokanović Slaviša Jokanović ( sr-Cyrl, Славиша Јокановић, ; born 16 August 1968) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of Russian club Dynamo Moscow. A physical player considered strong in the a ...
was appointed instead, with Heckingbottom returning to his previous role as the under-23s manager at the club. On 25 November 2021, Heckingbottom was appointed manager of Sheffield United, this time on a permanent basis, on a four-and-a-half year deal following the sacking of Jokanović. In his first game in charge, the Blades beat
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
2–0. The team ended the season in fifth place, subsequently qualifying for the promotion playoffs, though they lost to
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
in the semi-finals. An impressive start to the 2022–23 season saw Heckingbottom awarded the EFL Championship Manager of the Month award for August 2022 after picking up 14 points from seven matches. Three wins from three away matches saw Heckingbottom claim the award for a second consecutive month.


Career statistics


Managerial record

*initially caretaker and appointed permanently on 15 June 2016


Honours


Player

Sheffield Wednesday *
Football League One play-offs The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise ...
: 2004–05 Barnsley *Football League One play-offs: 2005–06


Manager

Barnsley *Football League One play-offs: 2015–16 *
Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
: 2015–16 Individual * Championship Manager of the Month: August 2022, September 2022 * League One Manager of the Month: March 2016


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heckingbottom, Paul 1977 births Living people Footballers from Barnsley English footballers Association football defenders Manchester United F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Scarborough F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players English football managers Barnsley F.C. managers Leeds United F.C. managers English Football League managers Hibernian F.C. managers Scottish Professional Football League managers Sheffield United F.C. managers Premier League managers