'It's just...' - Paul Heckingbottom's take after Chris Wilder's prediction upon Sheffield United return
PNE have picked up eight points from their first five matches of the season
Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom isn’t as sure as Chris Wilder over this season’s Championship.
Heckingbottom’s former club, Sheffield United, reappointed Wilder this week for a third stint in charge of the Blades. In his first press conference upon returning, Wilder - who guided the club to 90 points last season but missed out on promotion - said he wasn’t expecting three clubs to pull away this time around.
So far, relegated duo Ipswich and Southampton have both picked up six points from their five games. The former, in their last outing though, demolished Sheffield United 5-0 which led to the sacking of Ruben Selles. Heckingbottom’s early assessment is that it’s an intriguing Championship, but he wouldn’t rule out a similar outcome to 2024/25.
“Listen, you never know,” said Heckingbottom. “Last year, Sunderland had a great start and then sort of dropped off - then Sheffield United went up, went past them and it was those three. I don't think it's a coincidence that two of those had just come down.
“It is the fact that those who’ve have come down have had a slower start. I looked at Ipswich’s performance against Sheffield United the other day and I didn't think they were sparkling and flying.
“But all of a sudden, those dangerous players that we saw when we played them at Deepdale take the game away from Sheffield United - and who knows now? They could kick on because they've got an unbelievable squad.
“Southampton came down and they’ll be wanting to do the same. You never know how the league's going to pan out. Any run of consistency from any team puts you right in the mix. And I think those big teams, with big squads, they're going to hit some sort of form at some point. It's just how long they can keep that run of results going.”
He added: “We're playing another team at the weekend who spent millions and millions of pounds, so if everyone's right with what they put on social media then we should lose to them. We either accept that and roll over, or we try and do things our way, and for us to do that we need everyone on the same page.
“The fact we’ve had good performances to this point, I think it gets people understanding that it's not about the money; it's about what we do. The fans have been fantastic, the players have been fantastic, and we need to stick together and make sure we continue that through the season.
“Because this league is funny this season, it's as tough as I've ever known it. And by that I mean how just right now it's looking like every game is going to be so competitive, every game is going to be decided by the finest of margins. As it stands at the minute I can't see that really changing.”
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