"I trust him with my life" - Preston boss Graham Alexander details the importance of assistant Chris Lucketti

Preston North End made two crucial appointments on Monday. Graham Alexander is the new manager, but Chris Lucketti has followed him to Deepdale as his assistant.

Since Alexander made his first foray into coaching after retirement, in the Preston academy, Lucketti has been his No.2 and the pair have made for an effective and successful tandem.

It’s telling that when discussing the success he’s had over 600 games at six different clubs in management, Alexander makes sure to stress that it is ‘our work’ alongside Lucketti and the rest of the coaching success rather than just his alone. He even describes them as a ‘management duo.’

Giving his first feature interview to Preston North End’s official YouTube channel, Alexander detailed his long working relationship with Lucketti, a fellow former Lilywhite with hundreds of appearances at the club.

He said: “Chris is someone I've known, we played next to each other for six years as teammates and when I got offered the role of academy manager here when I retired, Chris was doing the Under-16s and I needed someone to work alongside me and Chris was a perfect option for that.

“Obviously, then broke into a management career. I asked if he wanted to start it with me. The answer was yes. Apart from a little spell when he tried it in the hot seat himself at Bury, we've been together ever since.”

Why Lucketti is so important to Alexander

Lucketti was hired as Bury manager in November 2017, another team the former centre-back played for during his career, to replace the sacked Lee Clark.

Despite signing a two-and-half-year deal, he was sacked by the Shakers after just two months after suffering eight defeats in 10 games. He soon reunited with Alexander at Salford City and has been by his side ever since.

The new North End boss explained that Lucketti’s ability to tell him hard truths and give him unconditional support is why they work so well together.

“The biggest thing with Chris, over my career, is I can trust him with my life. That's it.” Alexander continued.

“We've worked with many different staff members over the years. Fantastic people and we're still friends with a lot of them but Chris has been the one constant I've had through the career I've had so far in management. If I ask him a question, even if it's going to upset me, he tells me the truth.

“There's a challenge there for Chris from time to time but once I've made my mind up he's 100 per cent behind me. That's all I can ask for. We've had some fantastic times, the memories we've created so far.

“Chris' time here as a player, probably a little bit shorter than mine, but certainly a successful one.

“When this opportunity came around, we both looked at each other and we didn't really have to speak. We both knew what we wanted.”

Graham Alexander has already held training with his Preston players

Alexander’s full coaching staff has not yet been confirmed, but the dynamic duo have wasted no time in getting started with the task at hand and have already been out on the training pitch with the players on Monday.

The 54-year-old wanted to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible, given PNE currently sit 23rd in the Championship table with just four points after eight games. Alexander now has plenty of time to get to know the squad ahead of his first game in charge, which comes at home to Millwall on October 10.

When asked what was first on his agenda after finally taking over the reins, Alexander replied: “Well, hopefully training.

“Hopefully we can get organised before training today. We've got a two-week window until the next game, which is fantastic.

“Gives us an opportunity to really get to know the players and get to know us.

“Get some basics in there because you can't do everything in two weeks. But you have to start as soon as you can. We'll try and get out on the grass today, work with the players, give them a small idea of what we're about, build on it tomorrow, build on it next day and that's all it is.

“It's step by step, bits they can achieve and progress with.”