'No shying away' - Preston North End captain seeing progress under Paul Heckingbottom after 'difficult time'

Preston North End captain Ben Whiteman believes the Lilywhites are on the right track under manager Paul Heckingbottom.

The Lilywhites drew 0-0 with Blackburn Rovers in Sunday’s Lancashire derby at Deepdale. PNE were reduced to ten men just before half-time, with Sam Greenwood sent off for a challenge on Lewis Baker. Owen Beck then saw red for Blackburn in the closing stages and North End, who had dug deep during the second half, came close to nicking all three points. Both Whiteman and Brad Potts were kept out by goalkeeper, Aynsley Pears.

It was a share of the spoils in the end, though, and Whiteman took plenty of positives from the performance - particularly the control he felt Preston had over the course of the match. North End have won one, lost one and drawn two under Heckingbottom - while knocking Harrogate Town and Fulham out of the Carabao Cup. PNE have five points on the board and sit 21st, but North End’s number four fully expects them to climb the table over the next few weeks.

“I don’t think it’s a fair reflection at all,” said Whiteman. “If you look at the season, it’s sort of been a difficult one for us. The new manager has obviously come in now and if you look at the building blocks he’s put in place, I think we look a really good side. I think I mentioned in my press after the Swansea game, that it might not have looked it, but we are a hard working team. When we come under the cosh, we will dig in and that was epitomised (against Blackburn).

Whiteman raised his press conference after defeat at Swansea City, in the second Championship game of the campaign. The 28-year-old was the only person to speak to the media in Wales, with caretaker boss Mike Marsh having left his post following the final whistle. He looked utterly dejected that day and is therefore glad to feel as though PNE are heading in right direction.

“Yeah, obviously things happened in the background as well, which don’t need to get mentioned,” said Whiteman. “It was a difficult moment for the football club, there is no shying away from that. Obviously, people have their perceptions about what’s going on. It is easy to blame him, or him, for everything, but it was a difficult time. I think we are obviously coming through the other side of that and I think the fans can now see that.”

Whiteman equipped himself impressively against Rovers, but it was his midfield partner, Ali McCann, who scooped the Man of the Match award. The number 13 has started the last two league games and his performance on Sunday was crucial to PNE picking up their point. Whiteman was not surprised at all to see his team mate step up to the plate and he feels there’s another aspect to McCann’s game, which deserves more recognition.

“Yeah, he obviously covers a lot of ground and makes those tackles,” said Whiteman. “That is Ali McCann to a tee. I thought he was outstanding. In possession as well, I don’t think he gets enough credit for that. Because he is all action, tackling - I think he made three in the second half, in the space of about two seconds. But, he needs some credit on the ball as well because he is a tremendous footballer.”

He added: “The manager has obviously got his own style and you can see what he’s trying to do. We are trying to dominate possession and when we lose it, we’re getting on a high press. It’s a bit difficult when you go down to ten men. You’ve got to pick your moments, but I thought we did that and were in control for the majority of the game - whether it be with possession or in the defensive shape.

“The instructions were very clear and that’s what you want, as a player. He set us up tactically at half time and it showed in the second half. I thought we played really well. I don’t think it was one of those where we were hanging on. We had some great opportunities and great moments where we could’ve probably done a bit better on the counter attack, but all in all it was a great performance.”