Paul Heckingbottom outlines Preston North End plan for cup clash and potential transfer incentive
PNE head to Harrogate Town on Tuesday night in the Carabao Cup
Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom is looking forward to seeing more of his new squad in action on Tuesday night.
The Lilywhites make the trip to Harrogate Town, in round two of the Carabao Cup. Heckingbottom began life at Deepdale with a 1-0 win over Luton Town on Saturday - attention now turns to cup action, before next weekend’s away clash at Oxford United.
In the background, transfer work is going on as North End look to strengthen before Friday’s deadline. But, another 90 minutes are ahead - at the club Heckingbottom finished his playing career at. It’s very much a challenge he’s excited by, and the 47-year-old plans to make changes to his team
PNE’s boss said: “I want to, simply because there are one or two - which is nice - where I want decisions whether to start them or not. It’s good. I’ve thought: ‘You know what? I’d love to have this lad in the team’. And I would love to have that with 18/19/20 players. So, there are some I am looking forward to using. Who knows? As pleased as I was (against Luton), there are opportunities again for those boys to be in the team against Oxford. There is that, for a start. I want to look at all the players as well, 100 per cent.
“Then thirdly, we want to coach the players. Because, if we do progress in cups, we are going to need all of the players. We’ve got 46 league games, so it’s really important we develop that group - where it is 20 odd of us who win together. We saw how important the subs were (on Saturday) It will never just be the 11. When you’re fresh in the door, my thought process about this game is totally different. It is an opportunity to see players and work on things.
“Likewise, can we pull a big team in the next round, if we get through? Then, we’ll have a bit more to spend before the window closes! I think it helps. A couple of clubs I’ve been at, when we’ve had successful campaigns it’s been promotion alongside good cup runs. So, I love it. I put a big value on it. There are different priorities you do focus on, without a doubt. But there is no reason why you can’t progress and still be successful in the league.”
On the team news front, Robbie Brady was absent on Saturday due to a knock - while Ali McCann is getting up to speed after missing pre-season with a calf issue. Milutin Osmajic was not involved either on Saturday, due to sickness.
“Yeah, he’s been ill with tonsillitis,” said Heckingbottom. “He missed Thursday and Friday, so hopefully - with antibiotics - it will be a good opportunity to get him involved. He would’ve been involved (against Luton).”