Paul Heckingbottom reaction after beating Charlton Athletic as big Preston North End 'mentality' point made

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom felt his side made life hard for themselves against Charlton Athletic.

The Lilywhites ultimately saw off Nathan Jones’ side 2-1 on Tuesday night to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round - where they will host Wycombe Wanderers.

Milutin Osmajic scored a goal in each half to send PNE through to the next stage of the competition; the Addicks has equalised just before the break courtesy of Luke Berry.

Post-match Heckingbottom said: “Yeah, delighted to get the job done. Tricky game... we knew Charlton would make it tricky with their style, how they play and how Nathan (Jones) would set them up. They did that, but I thought we contributed to making it tricky as well. We were really sloppy with the ball - the second half especially.

“We didn't play enough forward passes in the first half. We were brave and we took the ball but didn't pose enough problems. I felt when we started the second half the way we did, we might have wrestled control of the game but it never really happened. And so, we had to win the game in a different way. We stood strong but we made it tough for ourselves.

“Lots of direct balls came from their centre-backs - they stay in - and then lots of pace wide. we were obviously short of our wing-backs today, which is not ideal when you're playing against this type of team, but listen, the lads stuck at it. Duane (Holmes) is actually a bit unlucky for the goal. He gets tight and it ricochets through when (Thierry) Small gets beyond him.

“We stood strong in the end. Freddie (Woodman) makes a good save and Lewis (Gibson) makes a good block straight after, which is their moment probably. But apart from that, we knew they'd be throwing the ball in our box and they did that. Luckily, we had good experience and height and know-how on the bench, which we used.

“We always knew (Osmajic) was going to work hard. I always fancied him to get a goal. I want him to improve in terms of out-of-possession - his role out-of-possession - because I think it can help the team but also help him save energy at certain moments, to be even more effective when we do have the ball. So yeah, still a lot to improve. But, delighted he's got a goal and he's a big threat when he's on the pitch.”

“We need to adjust that.”

Heckingbottom then went on to highlight a mentality change he wants to see at the club - specifically when playing against ‘lesser opposition’. The PNE boss has enjoyed some of the ‘bigger’ occasions and feels North End often rise to them, but was keen to stress how important every game is. It is something the PNE boss assures he has spoken to players and club staff about.

“There's certainly a tendency here since I've come in and I think it's something to do with why we play better against big teams as well,” said Heckingbottom. “Supposedly, our record's better (against big teams) - which everyone talks about and is rightly proud about. But I can also understand then why we're not always as good against the teams which people expect us to be.

“That's absolute nonsense and irrelevant. We have to approach every game in exactly the same way. I speak to players about that but I mean everyone, whether it's the fans, whether it's the staff, whether it's the people connected with the club, you guys. We have to shift that mentality. Otherwise we're only ever going to be a team that performs well against teams we're expected to lose against.

“We want to be up near the top. We want to be competing. So yeah, a big challenge doing that and shifting that. It's something we all need to be responsible for, to shift that mentality. And regardless, we're playing with the same drive, expectation and intensity to get results against whoever's in front of us. Build-ups, everything, conversations.. just like that.

“There'll be people talking about Wycombe beforehand and it's utter nonsense. It just really riles me and until we can shift that, we won't be able to change it. Say if I pick the Leeds game for example, everyone will say Leeds are favourites and everyone's happy with just a good performance. I want to win. But just because everyone's happy with a good performance, there's a different feeling in the ground.

“And a different approach from the players. You rock up then the next game against Oxford, for example, and there's an expectation that we win. So the mentality shifts from everywhere and it's a feeling through the week as well. It's just nonsense if you're going to try and win. We have to be in charge of all that and the narrative.

“Whoever we play against we prepare the same way, which we do. But I want everyone to talk in the same way, no matter who we're playing as well. It's easier said than done. I'm talking about it. It'll probably never shift but it needs to. We need to adjust that.”