Paul Heckingbottom ‘hates’ watching games from the stands while banned but insists his players are not impacted by his absence from the dugout.
The Reds head coach, who admitted an FA disciplinary charge for walking onto Millwall’s pitch to confront a referee last month, served the first of his two-match ban during the 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough on Saturday. He watched the match from the back of West Stand, while talking to assistant coach Jamie Clapham and analyst Alex Bailey via an earpiece, and is set to do the same for the visit of Hull City tomorrow.
He said: “I hated it. It doesn’t affect the players, it just affects me. “All the players know what they are doing and so do the staff. “I was in constant communication anyway with Claps and Alex. It’s just different for me. I would rather be on the sideline. I know some managers like to go up in the stands, but not many do it any more. The only positive is that I can’t get sent off again when I am up there.”
Heckingbottom said he ‘wasn’t surprised’ by the two-match ban and added: “I knew it was coming.”
