The impressive numbers behind Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom - Alan Biggs

Anything of 40 or over is good, over 45 is very good and over 50 is excellent.

We’re talking win percentages and it’s always struck me how the two sports are on the same page for statistical success given very different criteria.

Which is how we can fairly accurately compare Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom with a batter (new term I don’t like but there you go) averaging more than 50. As he does in remarkably winning over half his games as permanent Blades boss.

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The job he has done at Bramall Lane since walking into a managerial and team crisis on November 25th last year is nothing short of brilliant.

Fair to say no-one - not Pep, not Jurgen - could possibly have bettered it given all the circumstances.

All done without fuss, or indeed widespread acclaim. Just head down, feet on floor and with plain, honest speaking allied to Barnsley-bred commonsense and determination.

There is nothing flashy about Hecky, no side, no pretence. A football man, no attempt to be a “personality.”

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Seemingly mild-mannered and approachable. Well, yes he is. But this part is, I believe, misleading and masks the steely streak of a driven man and a driving manager. Also his passion & relish for a battle.

So here’s his figures after being handed the position with United in a slump of form and confidence - a victory percentage of 53.85%, winning 21 of 39 matches and losing only nine.

Let’s bear in mind also that in both of two caretaker spells at Barnsley, winning promotion from League One, Hecky had a win percentage of well over 60%.

His only dips have been - to further the cricket analogy - on genuinely sticky wickets. He took Barnsley beyond the limits of their squad in the Championship and encountered Leeds during a period of ownership chaos.

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At Hibernian in Scotland, his reign was respectable but short lived, as was his temporary spell at the end of the Blades Premier League relegation.

Taken as a whole, this is a man considerably more seasoned than the general perception when he succeeded Slavisa Jokanovic. It’s 205 career games in total and an overall win percentage of 37.56 which looks destined to steeple.

Having been through an inferno of boardroom politics at previous clubs, it strikes me that Hecky has learned to manage upwards as well as downwards.

To hold sway to a considerable extent with this Blades board is no mean achievement. And, after a successful summer window, the hierarchy deserve credit for heeding him.