Sheffield United fan chants "change dynamic" of Paul Heckingbottom's future but he can hold his head high

It took until the fifth month of a sorry season, and the fifth goal conceded on a sorry afternoon, for the first vocal opposition towards Paul Heckingbottom's position as Sheffield United manager. Josh Brownhill had not long since put the gloss on a 5-0 procession for Burnley when the chant rung into the cold Lancashire air. "We want Hecky out."

Heckingbottom's future at Bramall Lane had long been the subject of speculation, sparked by erroneous newspaper reports after a cruel defeat at Tottenham and amplified after an 8-0 shellacking at home to Newcastle. Defeat at Arsenal was supposed to be his end; the Gunners won 5-0 and he survived.

But the first vocal calls for him to be relieved of his duties, from his own supporters, cut through the Turf Moor chill as incisively as Burnley's forwards carved open United all afternoon. The manager admitted himself afterwards that a shift from the fanbase "changes the dynamic" but to what extent remains to be seen, especially with owner Prince Abdullah seemingly more concerned with tweeting about Al Hilal's fortunes than making any sort of public utterance about his own club.

Defeats to Newcastle, to Spurs and to Arsenal are one thing. But in their last two games against fellow relegation rivals in Bournemouth and Burnley, United lost 8-1 on aggregate and barely laid a glove on their opponents in either. Burnley went into the game on the back of seven straight defeats and had not earned a single point at Turf Moor this season, but it took less than 15 seconds for Jay Rodriguez to puncture a hole in United's porous defence and set the wheels in motion.

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Everton's victory at Nottingham Forest sent them back bottom of the table, with an astounding goal difference of -28 after 14 games. They remain just four points adrift of fourth-bottom Luton but for a team so bereft of confidence and belief, that currently seems a world away.

Heckingbottom was dealt a rough hand in the summer with United's budget and the departures of two star men but despite that, patience on the terraces is beginning to wear thin; as is, judging by some of the more vocal tweets on social media on Saturday night, respect. Opinions will vary on whether Heckingbottom's race has been run, whether a different boss will get a different tune out of the same players, but he has been nothing but a classy servant to United ever since he first stepped up from U23 boss and frankly deserves better than some of the vitriol coming his way.

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This is the same manager who essentially helped save United last season from a financial crisis looming in the distance had they not won promotion. The one who has stepped up to be the public face of a football club with a detached owner and an absent chairman, dealing with issues above his paygrade that he may not reap the benefits of. If and when his Bramall Lane tenure comes to an end it should, in my view, be judged on its entirety; not from five months in isolation after he was sent to war armed with a peashooter.