By Heck! Tykes Face Fight To Keep Boss

BARNSLEY fans can breathe a sigh of relief – for now. Sunderland’s pursuit of Paul Heckingbottom is over but it is only a matter of time before the 40year-old is lured away.

He is simply too talented, too well-respected and – critically – too underpaid to hang around at Oakwell much longer.

With Chris Coleman now in post at the Stadium of Light, we will never know if the Tykes boss was tempted to seize the poisoned chalice.

Sunderland were poised to make a formal offer, only to be dissuaded when Heckingbottom expressed concern about various issues, including the quality of the Black Cats’ squad. Even so, with a reported £750,000 annual salary on offer, I believe Hecky could have been persuaded.

Risky

Yes it is a risky job. Over the last decade, managing Sunderland has proved as beneficial to a person’s reputation as working in an investment bank.

There is also no doubt that he loves Barnsley, and feels both personal and professional bonds to his boyhood club.