Three ups and one down from Paul Heckingbottom's first year at Preston North End

PNE in the cup

There were green shoots of hope in the league last season but PNE’s boss was left frustrated, too often, for the campaign to be deemed as an ‘up’. The Lilywhites’ efforts in both cup competitions, though, was a positive from the 2024/25 season. Harrogate was a niche away trip in round two of the Carabao Cup and the mental penalty shootout victory over Premier League side Fulham will live long in the memory.

The FA Cup fifth round win against rivals, Burnley, was a magnificent day against Deepdale. Aston Villa ultimately had too much - as they should - in the quarter-finals, but seeing Preston reach the last eight of that competition for the first time since 1966 was wonderful. It is easy to dismiss cup football but last season reminded us what it can give you as a club.

Midweek magic

A lot of PNE’s strongest performances last year ended in a draw - Sunderland home and away, Burnley away, Leeds at home and Sheffield Wednesday away. Ultimately, you will never really reflect on those with too much fondness. While wins were hard to come by overall, one thing Heckingbottom’s men did enjoy was a midweek trip. Harrogate was good fun as mentioned but we also saw Preston triumph under the lights in Cardiff, Norwich and Watford. For the hardy souls who make those gruelling journeys and get home in the early hours, the feeling of seeing North End take all three points makes the effort all worth it.

Relationship with fans

The fact the vast majority of PNE fans appeared to still be firmly with Heckingbottom, after last season, reflected well on him and Stuart McCall. North End almost went down but what the duo inherited never seemed to be lost on the Deepdale faithful, and at the end of the day Preston hadn’t played like a relegation side for most of the season.

The final day in the Bristol sunshine was a massive relief and ensured everyone could look forward, this summer, to the boss’ first full season. You wouldn’t describe supporters as head over heels for Heckingbottom but he is relatable and real, and there is certainly a feeling of respect towards him. He gets what Preston fans want to see in their team and will aim to deliver that as often as possible this year.

Heckingbottom is prone to a rant in the media but in the main, his words have resonated with North End supporters and there have been few slip-ups - which isn’t easy in this day and age. For PNE to stand any chance there has to be a connection between the team and fans, and belief on the terraces. There’s probably still some work to do with regards to the latter but last weekend was undoubtedly a forward step.

Big scare

The end to last season was an ordeal and it’s on everyone involved to ensure that does not happen again. Preston had the fright of their lives and came far too close to dropping out of the division; thanks must still go to West Brom for their huge final day favour. PNE won one of their last 13 games, with late goals conceded against QPR, Sunderland and Cardiff City. Of course, Heckingbottom and co could point towards a number of costly decisions to go against them over the course of the campaign.

This summer was always going to see big changes made on the back of that finish and we’ve seen those both on and off the pitch, with 10 new signings made at the time of writing and fresh staff members brought through the door. Saturday’s 2-1 win against Leicester City was a genuinely great afternoon; if PNE can produce that level of performance more often then they will be looking up. A pleasing start, but an awful long way to go yet and more transfer business required before September 1.

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