At times like this it is hard for any football fan not to feel a pang of sympathy for Paul Heckingbottom. With each passing week, the size of the rock the Sheffield United manager must push up this Premier League mountain seems to grow exponentially.
At almost no point here did his side give any indication they have the required quality to remain in the top tier, despite coming up against a Fulham team that, for much of the season, has appeared implacably opposed to scoring.
