'Done well' - Paul Heckingbottom dishes praise out to Preston North End man after QPR clash

PNE drew both games over the Easter Weekend

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom has praised the performances of Ben Whiteman this season.

Preston North End's Ben Whiteman encourages his team after they concede the equalising goal to make the score 1-1 | CameraSport - Lee Parker

placeholder image — Preston North End's Ben Whiteman encourages his team after they concede the equalising goal to make the score 1-1 | CameraSport - Lee Parker

But also, specifically, in the Lilywhites’ last three Championship outings. With Ali McCann injured and Jordan Thompson suspended, Whiteman has been the only midfielder - used to operating in front of the defence - left.

Stefan Thordarson and Harrison Armstrong left Deepdale in January and with numbers light, loan star Alfie Devine has dropped into a deeper role. He has adapted impressively but North End have needed their skipper to be on his game, against Stoke, Leicester and Queens Park Rangers.

“He’s done well,” said Heckingbottom. “Ben's been good this season... he's been improving. That pass (for the goal vs QPR), would anyone else in our team play that? Alfie (Devine), maybe, that range. Jordan's very good on the ball, keeps it passable. The pass between those bodies, if it gets cut out, it gets cut out, so what? You've got to deal with the moans from the crowd, but that's why we want him to play that pass and he can do it.”

Whiteman has only missed one league game this season, when he was suspended for the trip to Watford in November. He has started every single other Championship match, completing the full game on 37 occasions out of 40. Needless to say, that underlines the appreciation Heckingbottom has for his role.

”Yeah, and he does well in a lot of things,” said Heckingbottom. “I could talk about the pass and his role in the goal, but his regains against Leicester away, high up the pitch, reading it, pinching it, created our chances. There's a good one first half he did right in front of us. You'll not rave about that, but that's really, really important.

“His positioning, defending the box is big . He made a really good block away at Leicester. So, you add all the things up and what I'm saying about, are you effective in helping us score? Are you effective in helping us keep clean sheets? My job is to get a squad full of those type of players, and that's how you filter players out and in.”