Graham Alexander 'ready' to recruit another Preston great to his coaching staff after Mike Pollitt exit
Graham Alexander is making recruitments to his backroom staff.
Former Preston North End goalkeeper Carlo Nash is Graham Alexander’s ‘choice’ to replace Mike Pollitt as goalkeeper coach, according to reports.
Alexander has now completed his first block of fixtures as Preston boss after taking charge in the September international break, picking up his first win in a 1-0 victory over Southampton before club football was put on hold for the last break of the year.
Preston have used the opportunity to make more changes to the manager’s coaching staff, with it being announced on Monday that fan favourite Youl Mawene has returned to Deepdale as Head of Performance and Fitness, replacing Andy Liddell who left his role last month.
It was also announced that goalkeeper coach Mike Pollitt has left the club after nearly six-and-a-half-years as goalkeeper coach, with a replacement to be named in due course.
All signs are pointing towards Alexander appointing another North End stalwart in the role, as Alan Nixon reports on his Patreon that the boss is ‘ready to bring’ Nash in as the new goalkeeper coach.
Nash played 92 times for Preston in a two-year period between January 2005 and February 2007, keeping 39 clean sheets and conceding 80 goals, often lining up behind a defence containing Alexander, Mawene and assistant manager Chris Lucketti. He departed Deepdale for Wigan Athletic and went onto join Stoke City, Everton and Norwich City before retiring in 2014.
In the 12 years since hanging up the gloves, Nash has worked in multiple coaching and Head of Goalkeeping jobs, at Ilkeston Town, Northern Ireland Under-21s, Oldham Athletic, Salford City, Port Vale and Accrington Stanley.
During the 53-year-old’s four years as Head of Goalkeeping at Salford, he worked with Alexander when he was the Ammies’ manager from 2018-2020.
Preston appoint Mawene and Dyer to coaching staff
Mawene played 197 times for North End in a six-year stint from 2004 to 2010. He went onto play for Panserraikos, Aberdeen and Fleetwood Town before retiring in 2013.
After his playing career, Mawene immediately became fitness coach at Fleetwood and has continued in that direction since. He spent eight years with the Cods, becoming Head of Sport Science, before joining Salford City in 2020 as Sport Science and Strength & Conditioning Coach.
The 47-year-old returned to Fleetwood in his previous role the next year before being appointed Performance Coach at Burnley in May 2024, his last post before returning to Preston.
Alexander has also moved to make changes to his analytics team. Head of Performance Analysis Charlie Ager has left, being replaced by Scott Dyer. Alexander worked with him closely during his successful Bradford City tenure.
Alexander said on the appointments: “Youl brings a wealth of experience with him, has a fantastic work ethic and also played a significant part in successful teams both as a player with PNE and as a staff member with us when winning promotion. He’s a great addition to our staff.
“Scott worked closely with us at our previous club and played a significant role in our success there. He’ll work exceptionally hard to support the players and provide everything we need from an analysis perspective. We’re delighted to bring him in.”
Alexander initially didn’t make any changes to his coaching staff after being appointed on September 28, but felt things needed to change for the team so made the decision to move Liddell and first team coach Peter Murphy on on October 19.