THERE are similarities between Michael Carrick and Paul Heckingbottom.

Both are humble, understated and when it comes to receiving praise, they prefer to divert it in the direction of others.

Both have also done and continue to do terrific jobs in charge of Middlesbrough and Sheffield United.

Boro, as if those on Teesside need reminding, were precariously placed and fearing a scrap for survival when Carrick arrived. After a nightmare start to the season, Carrick has Boro dreaming again.

As for Heckingbottom, well the expectation this season was always to be in the promotion mix but he's managed to keep the Blades on track on the pitch while dealing with a fair bit of uncertainty off it. They were slapped with a transfer embargo in January and although talk of administration was rubbished by chief executive Stephen Bettis, he did say: "We are stretching every single pound that we have got, every single pound and giving as much as we can to the first team in order to get promoted, basically."

For a fair old chunk of the season, promotion looked extremely likely for Sheffield United. They were, at one stage, away and gone with Burnley. When they went 1-0 up against Boro in February, the in-play Championship table had them 13 points clear of Carrick's side with a game in hand. They still have that game in hand, but the gap between the teams is now three points.

The bookies still have Sheffield United as odds-on favourites to win promotion but there's no doubting the fact the Blades have faltered in recent weeks. Heckingbottom's side have lost four of their last 10 games and picked up nine fewer points than Boro, who top the form table over that period.

Those blips have resulted in some Steel City criticism for the Blades, which, suggested Heckingbottom after the recent crucial win at Sunderland, the players have been well aware of.

He said: "I spoke to the players before they went out to warm up. I take it for granted that you want everyone to blank out the noise [criticism] but you can't, if you live in the city you are aware of it, you are getting criticised, your performances.

"We beat Reading we are going up, we lose to Luton we are not. Boro drop points we are going up again. We win tonight we are going up. If we let that affect us, then we are on that rollercoaster and our mood is how we perform daily at the training ground.

"We have to forget about it and focus daily on the grass, the pitch and how we prepare during the week. If you are going to get involved in all of that it is going to affect you. Don't get involved in it, focus on us."

Sheffield United do, however, have one eye on Boro. Heckingbottom admitted as much.

"Am I glad Boro dropped points? Of course I am," he said after Boro's 1-1 home draw with Stoke.

"I don't want to get involved in that rollercoaster because I am getting carried away or anxious. I don't want the players and staff to do the same but I know players were watching it and would have been glad they dropped points. It's human nature."

It is human nature and Heckingbottom's honesty is to be applauded, but it was an admission that Boro are very much on Sheffield United's mind.

What will also be on their mind is the FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City. It's a fantastic achievement for a Championship side to reach the last four, but with a Wembley date on the horizon, you can't ignore the question of what sort of impact it will have on their league form?

"We play Man City on the 22nd (April). On the 15th we're at home to Cardiff, my question mark there is what's the cup impact going to be on the players a week before the match? That's a home match so you really want three points," said former Sheffield United striker turned pundit Carl Asaba on 5Live last week.

"Three days later on the 18th we have another home match against Bristol City, you need to be getting three points there, but it's four days before an FA Cup semi-final. That's what scares me.

"After the Manchester City match, you have another home match against West Brom. What will that do to the boys? If they win, they'll still be out, will they have enough players to turn up," laughed Asaba.

"But if you lose, what's the mental impact going to be? Burnley took a bit of a thumping (from Manchester City) and they're a very, very good team. There are pros and cons."

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What would you rather be in this position, the team doing the chasing or being chased? Sheffield United have the advantage of points on the board, Boro have the advantage of momentum.

While Heckingbottom recently admitted he was pleased to see Boro drop points, Carrick won't bite at all when quizzed on anything to do with Sheffield United. And that's not only in a press conference environment, as Stewart Downing revealed recently in conversation with the Northern Echo's You Are My Boro.

Downing said: "I asked him in the tunnel after a recent game, I said 'come on Michael, it's on'. He said 'nah, long way to go'.

"I said 'come on, we're mates, we played together for 20 years, you can tell me', and he wasn't having it."

As a player at Manchester United, Carrick experienced every scenario in a title race: leading from the front and chasing down from behind. Boro need Sheffield United slip-ups but the message is very much to focus on what happens at the Riverside rather than at Bramall Lane.

In the same week that Heckingbottom was talking about the rollercoaster of emotions in a promotion race, Carrick was as calm as ever, batting away questions about the race for second and Sheffield United.

While Heckingbottom told of Sheffield United’s players watching the Boro vs Stoke game and being glad of the outcome, Carrick claimed he wasn’t even aware of the Blades’ Saturday lunchtime slip-ups to Millwall and Blackburn before Boro kicked off at 3pm. Whether you believe that or not, it’s an example of how the pair are taking different approaches to the promotion race and all that surrounds it.

Heckingbottom and Sheffield United can't ignore the Middlesbrough threat whereas with Boro, because of their starting point when Carrick took charge, it almost feels like there's nothing to lose. At no point have Boro looked burdened by the pressure.

"There is no right or wrong way," said Carrick when quizzed on how his and Heckingbottom's approaches differ.

"It just comes down to the individuals in question and the teams and what works for them. We go about it in the way that we do and we’re happy with that and trust it. We just have to keep going and see what works itself out in the end."

For both teams, one last promotion push, starting this Saturday.