Preston will host Luton on Saturday with Paul Heckingbottom in the Deepdale duguout – their third manager in three games at the start of the Championship season.
Following the departures of Ryan Lowe, and his former No 2 Mike Marsh who quit his role as caretaker before the post-match press conference had taken place following a dismal 3-0 defeat at Swansea on Saturday, the club board moved quickly to make the appointment on Tuesday.
The former Leeds and Sheffield United boss’s first words on the club’s social media account included “I don’t want to be bored standing at the sidelines” and Heckingbottom’s task can be gauged by the fact that Preston have lost their last seven league games without scoring a single goal.
Heckingbottom, who will be assisted by Stuart McCall, added: “I’m really delighted with it, ready to go and champing at the bit really. It’s a club I know well for lots of reasons and a league I know well, so it was a pretty easy decision.
“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, who won promotion to the Championship as Barnsley boss in 2016, was sacked after just four months in charge of Leeds before guiding Sheffield United to the Premier League in 2023. He left that role in December of that year with the club in 20th spot.
The relationship of Preston fans with Lowe had become seriously strained following the latest long losing run but the criticism has also extended to the club’s hiearchy’s failure to land key signings – the ex-manager had based his style of play on using wing-backs but specialist players in that role were vitally absent.
The Lancashire outfit have brought in Sam Greenwood and Kaine Kesler-Hayden on loan, plus Stefan Thordarson and Jeppe Okkels permanently so far this transfer window and Heckingbottom is on the lookout for more.
He told the Lancashire Post: “[The window] is something I want to try and capitalise on if we can. There are always factors which dictate whether you can or not, but certainly we are going to work as hard as we possibly can, to do that. It would be a missed opportunity if we didn’t do that. Until that window closes, we will be looking to do things.”
The board came under fire from plenty of supporters when Lowe quit so early in the campaign after the first defeat in the home game to Sheffield United, many complaining that action perhaps should have been taken at the end of last season and while other more inexperienced candidates, such as former Manchester City coach Brian Barry-Murphy were under consideration, it appears they have played safe maybe to avoid further ire from fans if the gamble hadn’t paid off.
Preston director Peter Ridsdale added: “We identified that we wanted Paul to be the man to take us forward and moved swiftly over the weekend. We met on Sunday, finalised the details late [on Monday] night and he’s here with us today, ready to get to work.
“I’m now looking forward with confidence with Paul and Stuart McCall in charge and I think all Preston North End fans can be really excited about the season ahead.”
Preston are currently second bottom on goal difference in the Championship after those two reverses in the opening pair of fixtures.