Graham Alexander's Preston North End career over 22 photos

Graham Alexander is back at Preston North End for a third time.

Preston confirmed the 54-year-old Alexander as the club’s new first-team manager on September 28, replacing Paul Heckingbottom following his departure after a disappointing start to the new Championship season which leaves the Lilywhites in the relegation zone.

In contrast, Alexander has made his way over the Pennines from Bradford City with the Yorkshire club sitting at the top of the table in League One. He’s brought long-term assistant Chris Lucketti with him to Deepdale and the duo have already held their first training session with the squad.

Alexander played 421 times for Preston over his illustrious career in two stints. He first signed for the club in 1999 from Luton Town and stayed for eight years until his departure for Burnley in 2007.

Moving to a local rival didn’t ruin the relationship the former defender had with The Gentry, though, and he returned for a second spell in 2011. He briefly took charge of the team as joint caretaker alongside David Unsworth following the sacking of Phil Brown, before becoming an academy coach after retirement.

It didn’t take long for him to depart to begin a career in management and six clubs, over 600 games and 14 years later, Alexander is finally back home.

Here’s his Preston career in photos.