Paul Heckingbottom’s reflections in his first press conference after the summer transfer window closed

How pleased are you with the options you've got? Squad depth, squad strength, how satisfactory was that window for you?

“It was good,” Heckingbottom told BBC Lancashire. “I think all the business we did, we were really pleased with. We worked really hard, non-stop right up until getting Harrison done at the very end.

“I think we have got good squad depth, we have got good competition and hopefully, we'll start to see that reflected in the bench we can use and changes we can use, whether it's pre-game and the selections we make for the XI or during the game in the XI that take the field. So yeah, it's going to be important throughout the season.

“You hear me speak all the time; it's not the XI on the pitch, not even the 16 who take the field. That might be for that individual game, but throughout the season it's the 25 that we've got here. We've worked very, very hard... there's been lots of changes and we have to make sure it's for the better.”

Specifically on Harrison Armstrong, is that one of those pieces of the jigsaw - it just fits into place? What's he bringing to you that we can perhaps get excited about?

“He's young in age but he's mature in terms of his mentality, how he wants to succeed,” Heckingbottom told BBC Lancashire. “His performance is already mature on the pitch and it's not one where it's last minute, take a player. We like Harrison, we've been wanting to get him and we beat a lot of people for him. It was just a case of, ‘Are Everton going to let him out?’. We understood their position that it was going to be a late call.

“So, we're delighted to have got him. At Derby, he played deep - he can do that and get on the ball, break things up, compete. He'll defend, he'll break forward, but with the options that you speak about earlier, I think we can get more out of him in terms of getting on the front foot to go and press high, regain high, make the box. I don't know if you saw his goal in the first minute for England (U19s) the other day where he's bursting from midfield and tapping in inside the six yard box.

“We want goals from all over the pitch and something that I've challenged Harrison to do, and the rest of our squad and team to do, is score goals. I believe he can do that. In the Championship, because of the role he played previously, we've not seen that, so it's going to be exciting trying to get that into him. He's excited about trying to develop that area of his game as well, so he's a good addition and someone we're looking forward to working with because I think he's got a bright future.”

With Armstrong, was it that you wanted another centre midfielder - we need one - or was it there's a player there with real quality?

“He’ll improve us and yeah, he's got to obviously settle - I don't know what his ceiling is - but I just see someone who is really driven, got a really good all-round game, physically he's excellent as well,” said Heckingbottom. “So, who knows what type of player we've got there? He could be a big big player for Everton, never mind for us, so we were excited to get him and get working with him.”

What was the wait like (to find out if he’d signed) for you? Do you get stressed out?

“No, I'm not as stressed as James and Peter were,” said Heckingbottom. “They were blowing my phone up. Once I knew that Harrison wanted to come to us above the others - and I knew Everton wanted him to come to us - we were really respectful of Everton's situation and David's trying to get players in himself. It's probably a sign of how highly they regard Harrison, that he was staying if if they couldn't get the players. But they were always going to get the players and we were always going to get Harrison. It comes to that point and we're really grateful that they did let him come out.”

What did you make of not getting a striker? Or do you think you've added goals and assists?

“No, I wanted one,” said Heckingbottom. “It's hard to get them. Like I said, we've worked so, so hard to get the players that we've got and again, we could have just taken one, a number, but I don't think they'd have improved us. It would’ve only been right to take one that I felt would give our group a lift, give us a better chance of winning games more often and get in front of what we've got, or really push what we've got. So yeah, it was tough. You’ve all seen the market and what it's been like, especially for strikers and that's been a tough tough area.”

Is it rare that you finish a window and there isn't more you want? Has it ever been the case where you’ve got everything you wanted?

“God, probably not,” said Heckingbottom. “It’s irrelevant now. You move on to the next one, like it’s done, it’s gone. I’m just pleased with how how this one went and how hard we worked. If you look at what we've done and again, I'm looking across the league and the spends - net spend we're in a massive positive, you know, but I think we've improved the group and we've had to work hard to make that money go a long long way.

“There were some tough conversations with players last year who I really respect and have got loads and loads of time for - and were great for me and Preston - but the only way we could bring players in was to generate the money, and the money was already in the squad. That's another reason why it was tough, like that’s tough emotionally to do that, try and change that, have those conversations and then to go and find the players. Because, ultimately you're saying we've got to try and find better players on less money and we worked tirelessly to try and do that.”

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