Paul Heckingbottom's admission on current Preston North End squad as flexibility assessed
Ex-Sheffield United boss has been appointed manager of Preston North End
New Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom is comfortable with his current squad, but knows it could be more flexible.
The 47-year-old was appointed as PNE’s new boss on Tuesday morning, eight days after Ryan Lowe’s exit and three days on from the departure of interim boss Mike Marsh. Assisted by Stuart McCall, it’s straight down to work for Heckingbottom - with a home match against Luton Town this Saturday.
But, in the background the transfer window remains open until August 30 - Heckingbottom made no secret of the fact he would like to strengthen if possible. PNE director Peter Ridsdale made clear that the next manager would be adaptable, after two years of recruiting for and playing, in the main, 3-5-2.
When asked for his assessment on the squad, and how flexible it can be in terms of system, Heckingbottom told the Lancashire Post on Tuesday: “Not as flexible as I would like it to be, but there is good balance for the shape we’ve been playing. It’s obviously a shape I know really, really well. So, I am not fazed by that one little bit, in terms of how we try and change the dynamic within that system.
“Yeah, there are lots of things we could do. But, most of our conversations the other night were: ‘Where do we want to take it?’ What are the least amount of changes we could possibly make, in the shortest space of time, that will have the biggest impact on that dynamic? So, they are the things we’ve been discussing.”