“It’s a club I know well for lots of reasons and a league I know well, so it was a pretty easy decision,” Heckingbottom told the club website., external

“Experience is key. Knowing the players helps, and then having success in this league helps, so we know what it takes to compete.

“We know what it takes to do well and you can give that clear direction to try and get there, and that’s the aim.

“The short-term goals are to get back on track. Longer term, we want to be a really, really competitive team in this league.”

Heckingbottom started his managerial career at Barnsley and led them to promotion from League One and success in the EFL Trophy.

He had brief spells with Leeds and Hibernian before joining the coaching staff at Sheffield United.

After a caretaker spell in 2020-21, he was appointed as manager in November 2021 and guided them to a play-off finish that season.

Despite off-field issues, he then led them to second place in the Championship in 2022-23, as well as an FA Cup semi-final appearance.

However, they struggled to strengthen last summer and he was sacked in December with the team having lost 11 of their first 14 league matches.