Preston North End have won two from two since Paul Heckingbottom took charge last week. The Lancashire side’s new boss looks to add to that this weekend.
A trip to newly-promoted Oxford United awaits the Lilywhites on Saturday afternoon. With some of the focus remaining on late deals in today’s Deadline Day, the 47-year-old is still looking ahead to a tough fixture.
Comparatively, the U’s sit in 12th position after an opening day 2-0 win, against Norwich City, was followed by two losses. Preston on the other hand, have the exact same record but with a recent 1-0 victory over Luton Town.
🗣️ “We want to make sure we’re in a position to hurt them as often as we can.” ✊
The gaffer previews our trip to Oxford. #pnefc
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) August 30, 2024
Heckingbottom told the North End media team about his thoughts on the opposition awaiting his Preston side at the weekend:
“My assessment of them is they’re carrying on trying to play the same way. They’re a team that is good with the ball and whoever they’ve played against, they’ve caused problems.
“I think what they’ve seen as well is the problems that come the other way with jumping up a league, so we know it’s going to be tough.
“We are expecting them to play the same way. They’re at home, they’ll be on the front foot, try to create as many problems as possible for us, but likewise we want to make sure we’re in a position to hurt them as often as we can.”
The former Sheffield United boss was also quizzed on the reintroduction of Alistair McCann, following the end of the Northern Irishman’s injury spell. McCann, who is an ex-St. Johnstone midfielder, made his 100th appearance for the Lancashire side against Harrogate Town on Tuesday.
“He’s done a lot of work. He’s rehabbed his injury from last season and then got another injury this pre-season. So, the medical team certainly took good care with Ali.
“I think everything I’d heard about him when I came in, has been reinforced by my first impressions of Ali: about how diligent he is and how professional he is.
“I know they’ve really taken care of this rehab and he’s trained now for a couple of weeks and he managed to get 25 minutes the other night.”
The Preston fans have been a huge part of Heckingbottom’s new era with the Lilywhites. When asked about the impact that a sold-out away end has on the squad, the 47-year-old said this:
“The first two games they’ve really impressed me.
“We’ve spoken about the last 15 minutes or so against Luton. I’d love that to be the norm, what we see and feel every week. And at Harrogate the other night!
“Good travelling support, certainly the noisiest group of fans inside the stadium, and hopefully we can do the same on Saturday.”
Oxford will be hoping to get back to winning ways against a rejuvenated Preston side. A narrow 1-0 exit to Coventry City, in the EFL Cup, has potentially dampened the mood around The Kassam Stadium. North End however, look to keep another clean sheet after achieving 1-0 and 5-0 respective victories in the previous weeks.
Writer’s View
It’s true that Heckingbottom has revived Preston’s aspirations this season. This seems like a dooming statement to make considering, before the new manager’s appointment, only two games had been played. But, the Lilywhites’ fans were clearly lacking hope for their new season – this has been significantly changed now.
Oxford are set to try and play attacking, ambitious football despite the jump up to the Championship. Preston can combat this with another solid defensive showing, continuing on from impressive performances against Luton and Harrogate.
Des Buckingham’s side will cause plenty of problems for The North End as they look to get back to winning ways with an open playing style. This may be a perfect route for Heckingbottom’s side though as he has plenty of experience in catching teams out on the break.
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