Preston North End’s Heckingbottom Downplays League Position Worries

Paul Heckingbottom, the head coach for Preston North End, has stated that he is not troubled by his team’s current standing in the league. This comes despite the club being positioned 20th, merely one point clear of the Championship relegation zone, and having failed to secure a victory in their last seven league fixtures. Nevertheless, the manager, who previously led Sheffield United and Leeds, expressed contentment with his squad’s recent performances. Heckingbottom conveyed to BBC Radio Lancashire, “Listen, its not nice. I’m not concerned by the league position, I’m concerned about us not creating the wins. I think we’re fourth in the table for chances conceded so we’ve been limiting chances to teams but at the moment we keep getting punished. Our problem at the minute is when we’ve been the better team, we’ve tended to draw games, we’ve not won enough of them and that puts pressure on you.” On Saturday, North End played Derby County to a 1-1 draw, during which they allowed Jerry Yates to score an equaliser in the 29th minute. This goal marked the Rams’ sole shot on target throughout the match. Heckingbottom’s squad is scheduled to face Stoke City away on Tuesday night. Stoke City is presently enjoying an unbeaten run of four consecutive matches. He further commented, “The fans are sharing the frustrations the same as us but the margins are so fine. If we want to win the game, we’ve got to be good with the ball. I think if we are then we can pose them problems. However, if we neglect the bit without the ball, and don’t out compete them, well, its always going to be a difficult game.” The 47-year-old coach, however, was evasive when questioned about the potential availability of funds for player acquisitions during the forthcoming January transfer window. He concluded by stating, “Hopefully. Transfer windows always provide an opportunity to change things but we might have to try really hard, we’ll have to wait and see.”