PNE chairman Craig Hemmings targeting a “substantially improved squad” for the new Championship campaign

Hemmings, who took on his post at Deepdale four years ago, has acknowledged that the club has work to do if they're to be competitive in the Championship next term.

But he stressed that the Lilywhites won't change tact, and risk breaking the bank, in order to elevate their status in England's second tier.

With just two top 10 finishes in eight seasons since promotion from League One, and a string of mid-table conclusions, he said: "Working closely with Ryan Lowe, the coaching staff and the club’s recruitment advisors, we have been reviewing and highlighting potential targets for the summer transfer window as we look to strengthen and enhance our playing squad.

“We do not underestimate that there is a great deal to be done to strengthen the squad for the 2023/24 season. Nor do we underestimate the amount of work required to contract those players we wish to retain and replace those we do not. The end goal is to have a substantially improved squad.

“Player budgets for the season have been discussed in detail with the manager. As I have outlined on numerous occasions, we do not have the luxury of the riches of the parachute payments."

PNE's approach to the new campaign will largely mirror its predecessor, with a carefully strategized model providing the club with some room for manoeuvre in the transfer window without the threat of throwing it into financial ruin.

The club brought in nine new faces in total last season, five of those on permanent deals, while the likes of Alvaro Fernandez, Troy Parrott, Liam Delap and Tom Cannon were added on loan.

Negotiations to tie Greg Cunningham, Josh Onomah, Robbie Brady and Daniel Johnson down to new contracts are ongoing while the process of identifying targets who would fall within the perimeters of PNE’s budget has been underway for quite some time.

"Like every club in the Championship, we are constrained by Financial Fair Play rules (FFP), which means we must keep our (three year accumulated) losses to under £39m," explained Hemmings. "Our accumulated losses mean there is little headroom beyond what we have budgeted.

“To put things succinctly – for those fans wanting us to spend more on player recruitment than we have budgeted for 2023/24, we cannot.

"We believe it is right that identifying all new players is left to the experts. We have a strong scouting network, specialist analytics support and a first-class coaching team.

“It is not always possible to get every player we are asked to recruit. There are a long list of factors and unknowns that can stall or derail any recruitment.

"It happens at every single club in every league throughout the world. Rest assured though; we have been on with our recruitment process since the closure of the last transfer window.

"We prefer to get our transfer business done early, but some players we identify might not be available until later in the window.”