Another new era beckons at Deepdale as Paul Heckingbottom steps into the Preston North End hot seat having been picked to replace Ryan Lowe.
PNE fans knew that Ryan Lowe was heading into the new season under pressure.
Last season ended with a whimper as North End lost five in a row without even scoring a goal.
Lowe’s relationship with the fanbase has been fraught at best for a long time now, even going back 18 months for some supporters.
A new season didn’t bring a new atmosphere though and when PNE lost to Sheffield United on the opening day – again without scoring – Lowe left the club by ‘mutual consent’ just days after being booed down the tunnel.
It’s not often you’re left talking about potential new managers just four days into a new season, but that’s where PNE were left as the Lowe era came to an end.
Mike Marsh won his opener as caretaker boss, beating Sunderland in the Carabao Cup before a dismal 3-0 defeat at Swansea City last weekend.
Marsh moved on and PNE were left to accelerate plans to bring in a new manager – technically a third of the season.
Brian Barry-Murphy’s name appeared to be prominent last weekend but come Monday, it became clear that Paul Heckingbottom had been selected.
Out of work since leaving Sheffield United in December, Heckingbottom returns to management with PNE and will lead his side out for the first time against Luton Town on Saturday afternoon.
Heckingbottom’s arrival has largely been well-received, so let’s dig into some early thoughts about his arrival at Deepdale…
Shades of Grayson
PNE are moving on from a manager who struggled to connect with large sections of the fanbase and a straight-talking Yorkshireman is in as his replacement.
That reads for North End’s current situation having made the call to Heckingbottom, parachuting him in to replace Lowe.
Yet it also evokes memories of 2013 as Graham Westley was shuffled out of the club via Waterloo train station.
In came Simon Grayson, who steadied the ship and ended up guiding PNE to promotion just over two years later.
Fans have already noticed similar traits in Heckingbottom; no bluster, no frills, no drama, just calm and sensible opening gambits which placed emphasis on the players and fans over himself.
The remit is slightly different; PNE were relative big-hitters in terms of stature in League One and promotion was almost a necessity under Grayson.
The same expectation levels won’t be placed on Heckingbottom but his measured demeanour is already resonating with the North End fanbase. It’s early days, but it’s a good start.
Could Thordarson become Heckingbottom’s new Sander Berge?
Just as there are some parallels between Heckingbottom and Grayson, perhaps Heckingbottom sees a comparison of his own after inheriting this PNE squad.
Heckingbottom guided Sheffield United to promotion in 2023 with a tall and athletic Nordic midfielder making a huge impact.
Sander Berge started 34 games and came off the bench in another three, hitting six goals and five assists as a box-to-box threat.
Heckingbottom has now been introduced to his North End squad and his eyes may have lit up after seeing Stefan Teitur Thordarson in action.
The Iceland international has emerged as one of few PNE players with some credit from the opening weeks of the season.
Thordarson’s athletic profile and ball-carrying abilities have been a welcome addition to North End’s midfield and he has shown an eye for goal too – especially from range.
We can’t say that Thordarson is the same level of player as Berge, who has just signed for Fulham in a £25million move from Burnley.
Berge also has a little more physicality in duels to but Heckingbottom understood the Norwegian’s ability to make an impact in the final third and pushed him both high and wide, as noted by Total Football Analysis.
Heckingbottom may be minded to use Thordarson in a similar way, pushing him up the pitch in search of goals having proven himself as a real threat at Silkeborg.
Remain open-minded to 3-5-2
Even hearing ‘3-5-2’ is enough to make many PNE fans recoil in horror.
Lowe’s 3-5-2 was often more frustrating than free-flowing and left supporters sick of hearing about wing backs, especially as PNE still don’t have natural, long-term options in those positions.
Heckingbottom utilised a 3-5-2 for much of his time in charge of Sheffield United though, leaving some concerned that his appointment will be more of the same tactically.
Heckingbottom has been tactically versatile throughout his career though, mostly playing four-man back lines at Barnsley, Leeds and Hibernian.
That means we could see something a little different from Heckingbottom’s PNE, but his ideas shouldn’t be written off if he lines up with a 3-5-2.
Not very back-three formation is the same; Xabi Alonso’s with Bayer Leverkusen is different to Oliver Glasner’s at Crystal Palace, which is different to Simone Inzaghi’s at Inter Milan, which is different to Marcelo Bielsa’s with Uruguay.
That isn’t to say that PNE can suddenly play like those sides, but there is a perception that the system just doesn’t work as a general rule yet Leverkusen and Inter both won their respective league titles last season.
It can work with the right players in the right roles behind the right approach – it isn’t just as easy as saying three at the back can’t work at all.
Heckingbottom at least deserves a chance to show that his approach would be different to Lowe’s – especially having been promoted using three at the back with Sheffield United.
Familiar faces
PNE fans are well aware of Heckingbottom having seen him around the EFL scene for a number of years now.
Heckingbottom is an even more familiar face to a couple of players in the North End squad.
The new PNE boss signed both Liam Lindsay and Brad Potts during his time as Barnsley boss, luring them to Oakwell in the summer of 2017.
Lindsay has previously raved about Heckingbottom and backed him to shine at Hibernian – albeit that move didn’t really pay off.
“I really enjoyed working under him,” said Lindsay whilst speaking to The Sunday Post in 2019. “I am obviously grateful for him having belief in me and he played me in nearly every game. He left in February, I am sure if we had kept him we would have stayed up to be honest.”
“You know when you have a manager who knows what he is talking about. You have respect for him. We all had respect for him down here and we all played for him,” he added.
Potts played 27 times under Heckingbottom at Barnsley, hitting three goals and two assists in the process.
Heckingbottom mostly deployed Potts as a central midfielder in a 4-1-4-1 system or even on the right side of a 4-4-2.
Potts was converted into a right wing back under Lowe, so it will be fascinating to see just where Heckingbottom envisages him playing as they reunite.
Stuart McCall the perfect partner
Heckingbottom is calm, measured and concise; his interviews have been a sharp change from Lowe’s, whose messaging started out very exciting and united the fanbase early on but ended up becoming more and more confusing.
Then there is partner-in-crime Stuart McCall, who reunites with Heckingbottom having served as his assistant at Sheffield United too.
McCall has already given the image of being a bundle of energy, a man who simply couldn’t wait to get his shorts and boots on after signing his North End contract.
McCall told BBC Radio Lancashire that he will provide ‘old school values’ with he and Heckingbottom no doubt ready to chop and change the ‘good cop, bad cop’ roles.
An experienced coach and manager whose enthusiasm is infectious, McCall is a pivotal appointment for North End.
Lowe was unable to bring assistant Steven Schumacher with him in 2021 and whilst Mike Marsh took on the role, familiarity certainly helps – especially early on.
McCall and Heckingbottom know each other inside and out and this appointment will have been top of the priority list for Heckingbottom.
How Heckingbottom has used his time off
Heckingbottom was sacked by Sheffield United in December and has admitted himself that he had opportunities to get straight back into management.
No clubs were named but Swansea City, Sunderland (twice), Stoke City, Plymouth Argyle, Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town, Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and Watford were all searching for new managers in the three months after his Bramall Lane exit.
“I nearly went straight back in but I do know now that would have been wrong,” Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire. “There wouldn’t have been the same person sat for that football club as there is for this one, with the same energy back and hungry and drive, so it was really important for me to recharge and go away and do a lot of things that I wanted to do and be ready for this,” he added.
So what exactly has Heckingbottom been up to?
Heckingbottom visited Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen as well as La Liga outfit Girona, taking in their methods under Spanish coaches Xabi Alonso and Michel respectively.
Leverkusen romped to the Bundesliga title without losing a game whilst Girona were La Liga’s surprise package, qualifying for the Champions League with a third-place finish.
If Heckingbottom can bring even a fraction of their successes to Deepdale, then those spells abroad will be time well spent.