Ex-Preston North End boss tells Paul Heckingbottom the biggest difference he's made at Deepdale

Alex Neil believes Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom has made a big impact on the Lilywhites’ - specifically out of possession.

Ahead of Saturday’s Lancashire derby at Turf Moor, Neil was in the Sky Sports studio along with ex-PNE striker David Nugent. Pre-match, Heckingbottom was interviewed live by the panel - which involved Neil praising North End’s work without the ball.

He said to Heckingbottom: “I’ve obviously been at Preston - a great club. I watched you against Watford and what I was really impressed by, and thought you’ve made great strides to improve, is being effective when the other team has got the ball. So, when the opposition has got the ball, how dangerous you are when you turn the ball over.”

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“Yeah, we are trying,” replied Heckingbottom. “It’s a way that, I think you know, I like to play. I want to be more aggressive. I cannot stand being a passive team. Even if you are defending your own box, in your own defensive third, you still need that aggression to win the ball back - in my eyes. The higher up the pitch we can do that, the more effective we’ll be on those turnovers that you are talking about - to try and create more chances.

“Because, creating chances has been a problem. It is not like a shock to me. You come into the job with your eyes wide open. You sort of know where the squad lies, what has been the strengths and weakness. And yeah, turning over the ball more often - especially higher up the pitch - is a good way to help create chances.”

Neil, along with former Derby County defender Curtis Davies and presenter David Prutton, also analysed the average positions of PNE players in games. The two matches compared were North End’s opening day defeat to Sheffield United, under Ryan Lowe, and last Wednesday’s 3-0 victory against Watford. Neil detailed Preston’s intent to get after the ball, on that night.

“Yeah, just an aggressive stance,” said Neil. “So, if you look at the set-up in the middle of the pitch, they played a diamond in there. And what they sort of did was, they had Osmajic as a striker taking care of his central centre-back - and then they would take care of the sides. Either side of the diamond, with Ali McCann and Thordarson.

“They would trigger the press and it allowed people behind them to basically back them up and condense that space. They left the ball in behind and the goalkeeper’s starting position was high as well, to make sure he could mop up anything that went into the channel. That allowed them to be aggressive and turn the ball against Watford.”