New keeper coach will carry on Jonathan Gould’s great work with Preston North End

Mike Pollitt will be the new man working with the PNE keepers, replacing Jonathan Gould who has emigrated to New Zealand.

Gould has a farm business in New Zealand and he lived there for 10 years after retiring from playing before returning to England in 2015, where he has since worked for West Bromwich, Middlesbrough and North End.

Although he was only with PNE for 11 months, Gould made a big impression.

Declan Rudd benefited from working with him, while Mathew Hudson is said to have made big strides forward in his development.

The baton has now been put in the gloves of Pollitt who previously worked with Wigan, Rotherham and Bolton as a keeper coach.

As a player, Pollitt started as a trainee at Manchester United and went on to play 578 first-team games during a career which included stays at Wigan, Rotherham, Lincoln and Darlington.

He played in the Premier League during his time with Wigan and later moved into coaching with them.

Pollitt will be the fifth keeper coach to work on Neil’s staff in the last three years, following on from Alan Kelly, Dean Kiely, Jack Cudworth and Gould.

Neil told PNE’s official website: “I think it was important that we got somebody in a similar vein to Jonathan, who has been about and worked with top goalkeepers.

“Mike has got that element of experience and hopefully he can be a steady influence on the goalkeepers.

“I think he will be a great addition to us and hopefully going forward he can show what he’s capable of.

“He will be very good for the goalkeepers, they have learnt from Jonathan and hopefully Mike can pass on his knowledge and experience on to them as well and that should stand them in good stead.”

Neil was full of praise for the job Gould did since he started with the Lilywhites last August.

Gould worked the keepers hard, both from a physical and mental point of view.

Said Neil: “Jonathan has been a great servant, he certainly helped Declan and was a great addition to the backroom team.

“Mathew Hudson has developed a lot as well under him, that’s something the fans wouldn’t necessarily see because he hasn’t played.

“Jonathan and I had a lengthy discussion and obviously if his family are moving he needs to follow suit.

“He didn’t want to leave, we didn’t want him to leave but we understand the situation.”