It’s been a dreadful start for Saturday’s opposition Preston, who have lost six of their first seven games and become the first team in the league to change their manager after Paul Heckingbottom was dismissed in the wake of a home loss to Lincoln City. Josh McLoughlin takes us through it.

How was last season?

Last season was similar to many other seasons that we have seen before. A very promising start, fourth in January. Lost Harrison Armstrong back to Everton and didn't replace him. Daniel Iversen got injured and form massively tailed off. Looked at one stage we would get sucked into a relegation battle again but staved it off. On the whole the football was very poor to watch.

Sorry to ask, but how's this season started?

Poorly, but probably as expected. The squad seemed way off it when we started the season with a defeat to Bolton. Signings have been made since but we seem in the weakest position since returning to this level in 2015. Only three points from seven games. We should have beaten Watford and Lincoln but didn't even manage to get a draw. Even when we play well we lose, and ultimately it's cost Paul Heckingbottom his job

Preston in the league so far…
Bolton 2-1 Preston Dalby 14, Gale 25 – Erabi 86
Preston 1-3 Wolves Thompson 90 – Lopez 8, 82, Armstrong 71
Charlton 1-0 Preston Grant 56
Preston 1-3 Bristol City Wiley 51 – Twine 4, Eissat 79 Ballard 86
Preston 2-1 Blackburn Lang 9, 27 – Mills og 51
Watford 2-1 Preston Kayembe 69, Doumbia 76 – Lang 5
Preston 0-1 Lincoln Draper 81

Why so bad?

We are toothless in attack and porous in defence which is not a good combination. We only have two strikers in the squad: Jusef Erabi on loan from Genk, whose best scoring campaign came in Sweden with Hammarby with eight league goals; and Johnny Kenny from Celtic who is unproven at this level, but all our eggs are well and truly in his basket. The only other 'forwards' we have are Delano Burgzorg and Callum Lang who run around a lot but don't really do anything with the ball.

The defence is still making mistakes every game, mainly because we have stuck with Liam Lindsay, Jordan Storey and Andrew Hughes for what seems like forever.

There isn't an obvious formation for us to play. The fans have been crying out for us to play wingers, but we only recruited Stanley Mills in that position, who looks good but we are playing at wing-back. No clear identity and we are too easy to play against

Heckingbottom sacked, right decision? How much is his fault, really?

The writing was on the wall after a poor defeat to Lincoln. I don't think many managers survive six defeats in the first seven games, but when you look at who we have played as well, there are much tougher fixtures to come. The poor form goes back to the start of 2026 though. After moving up to fourth place, three points off second on January 4, we have only won five league games. In eight months! Our form also fell off a cliff the in the 24/25 season, only staying up on the last day.

Heckingbottom hasn't improved us at all in the last two years. There are far bigger problems than the manager, and it isn't all down to him, with an archaic leadership system above him, and talk of a takeover hanging over us for the last six months without anything tangible yet. Heckingbottom wasn't helping the situation but he certainly isn't the sole reason for our drop

Who do you want to replace him?

I think it's more a question of who would want this job? During the international break I think that might be a few other Championship clubs that will make a change, and they will be more of an attractive proposition than us.

The like of Rob Edwards, Steve Cooper and Carlos Corberan are being mentioned. I think Edwards will have his sights set higher. I can't see Corberan going from Valencia to Preston. Cooper could be viable, and I wouldn't mind that at all. Done very well in this league before, and he took over at Forest in a very similar position. I think Graham Alexander would jump at the opportunity but that would be heart over head, and Dave Challinor will definitely apply.

I'd like us to think outside of the box, and go for someone young, from abroad who would relish a chance in England

What did you make of your summer transfer window in the end, actually seemed to spend a fair bit of money?

Hit and miss. We made the decision to sign more permanent players to add value to the squad rather than relying on Premier League loans and those signings seem sensible. Alfie Devine for £6m is a solid investment. I don't know why he has joined us, but hopefully he kicks on and we can make a decent profit on him. Harry Clarke signed from Ipswich and is already a fan favourite. 100% commitment every match, and I can see him captaining us at some stage. Leo Leroy signed from Basel as a Ben Whiteman replacement, and is a huge improvement. Very tidy on the ball, and always looks to progress with it. The jury is still out on Johnny Kenny, we've spent the money from Milutin Osmajic on him, so he has to fill a big void.

The loan signings are where we may be lacking. After having the likes of Alvaro Fernandez, Troy Parrott, Liam Delap, Tom Cannon, Harrison Armstrong, Sepp Van den Berg, and Liam Millar on the books, who carried us at times.…

Ins >>> Alfie Devine, 21, AM, Spurs, £5m >>> Harry Clarke, 25, RB, Ipswich, £3.5m >>> Johnny Kenny, 23, CF, Celtic, £3m >>> Leo Leroy, 26, CM, Basel, £2.5m >>> Stanley Mills, 22, RW, Oxford, Undisclosed >>> Lee Nicholls, 33, GK, Huddersfield, Undisclosed >>> Jusef Erabi, 23, CF, Genk, Loan >>> Delano Burgzorg, 27, LW, Boro, Loan >>> Caleb Wiley, 21, LB, Chelsea, Loan >>> Liam Gibbs, 23, CM, Norwich, Loan

Outs >>> Ben Whiteman, 30, CM, Wrexham, £3m >>> Milutin Osmajic, 27, CF, Genoa, £2m >>> Jack Walton, 28, GK, Dundee Utd, Undisclosed >>> Noah Mawene, 21, DM, Fleetwood, Free >>> Michael Smith, 34, CF, Mansfield, Free >>> James Pradic, 21, GK, Fleetwood, Free >>> Jack Walton, 28, GK, Dundee Utd, Undisclosed >>> Jamal Lewis, 28, LB, Released >>> Will Keane, 33, CF, Released >>> Robbie Brady, 34, LM, Released >>> David Cornell, 35, GK, Released >>> Li-Bau Stowell, 18, GK, Chorley, Loan >>> Kitt Nelson, 21, AM, Linfield, Loan >>> Max Wilson, 19, CF, Chorley, Loan

Where is the team strong and weak?

There is weaknesses all over the squad. The defence always has a mistake in it. The midfield is ok, but lacking depth in quality. The attackers are League One level at best. The strength is probably in goal, Daniel Iversen can be one of the best in the division on his day.

How do you see this season going now?

It looks like it's going to be a relegation battle. We need points quick, but the fixtures are getting harder. We need to be in a position come January where a few more additions can help us to kick on. It's going to be a struggle, and it won't be pretty. The fans need some hope, and need something to get behind because it's been boring for so long. This has all been coming for some time. We've papered over the cracks for too long now.

Links >>> Preston Official Website >>> Lancashire Telegraph — Local Press >>> From The Finney — Blog >>> Deepdale Digest — Blog >>> PNE Online — Forum

If you enjoy LoftforWords, please consider supporting the site through a subscription to our Patreon or tip us via our PayPal account loftforwords@yahoo.co.uk.

Pictures - Reuters Connect

Recent Stories