Every word Paul Heckingbottom said on Preston North End huddle, Freddie Woodman, 'expansive' Cardiff City

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom discussed a range of topics in his pre-Cardiff City press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

You can have a read of his comments below!

Was Freddie Woodman coming back into the team quite routine, or did Dai Cornell give you a decision to make?

“I was really pleased with Dai," said Heckingbottom. "But yeah, Freddie coming back in was... listen, it is never easy. We are in a position now where everyone is fit and well and it should be hard. It should be uncomfortable and I should be having conversations with players, where you have not really got those obvious reasons and it's just gut (feel).

“As much as a player doesn't want to hear that, ultimately it is a better reflection on them - than when you are telling them what they're doing wrong, or they are not in the team because of X, Y, Z. You want it to be difficult and every player to be making it difficult, not only to pick the XI, but then also when you're looking behind and making subs. It doesn't half feel like you've got a lot more armoury."

Did you like how the team looked in Sheffield Wednesday’s half? It looked like - particularly Sam Greenwood and Mads Frokjaer - a lot of good quality players, enjoying playing together.

“You look back at the team and watch the performance - yes players have moments where it might be untidy - but everyone played well," said Heckingbottom. "But, there is more to being a successful team, if you want to be right at the top, than just playing well. So, Sheffield Wednesday for example - and I said it to them after when chatting - have been second best in their last two games and got four points. That is a skill in itself.

“Talking about football skills and mentality, it is all in one and making the right decision, at a key moment, is match winning. You have a lot of players who can do that, who've been in successful teams. If you are looking at instances in a game and just marking them, as analysts and people do, with a number - whatever that may be - that is alright. But, key moments and decisions in games should be reflected by more than just a one. They are match winning moments, both with and without the ball.”

Stuart McCall gave us a flavour of your post-match huddle. Was it a spur of the moment thing where you needed to have a word with the players right there?

“I just enjoyed the performance and how we played," said Heckingbottom. "I didn't want any of my frustrations to be shared with the players. Do you know what I mean? I just didn't. I enjoyed the performance from start to finish. We are always chasing, but it was brave, it was positive. We made mistakes, which I know we are going to. We were on the front foot, they equalised and we were still on the front foot, forcing issues. And yeah, listen, we should've won the game but we didn't. In terms of performance and what I want to see from the team, it was really, really good."

What type of team are Cardiff?

"They try and be expansive with the ball," said Heckingbottom. "They try to pose you problems with the ball and then set up in a 4-4-2 shape without it. So, yeah, you can get drawn into the trap of really chasing it and getting worried if the game gets disjointed and hectic. But, what they try and do with the ball promotes that. And, I quite like us when the game gets like that anyway. It should be a good game."

Was it any surprise to see Omer Riza get the job until the end of the season, given what you have seen from them?

“No,” said Heckingbottom, to BBC Lancashire. “I don’t know the inner workings of the club. I have not looked into that, but he came in, hit the ground running and the players responded really well. That is always a sign, I think. So, no surprise to me and like I say, you can see his ideas coming across in how they want to play as well.”