One game into the new season and the Lilywhites are on the search for a new manager. Ryan Lowe and director Peter Ridsdale held talks on Sunday, and the former couldn't be talked out of stepping down from his post.
Football is an unforgiving and relentless business, and shortly after Lowe’s departure was announced, markets opened up on who could replace him. One name that has come out of the blue over the last few hours is Scott Lindsey - the manager of League One outfit Crawley Town. He guided the Red Devils to promotion last season, via the League Two play-offs, despite being unfancied at the start of the campaign.
Crawley claimed a 2-1 win over League One play-off hopefuls and PNE rivals Blackpool at the weekend. The 52-year-old was given a chance to manage in the Football League by Swindon Town in 2022, having worked mainly as a coach at Gillingham, Lincoln City and Forest Green Rovers. His playing career was mainly spent in the non-league, with the biggest clubs he played for being Burton Albion, Gillingham and Dover Athletic.
Another contender, according to the odds, is Paul Heckingbottom - who was the manager of Sheffield United until December. It’s already been reported that he would be interested in the post, while former PNE striker David Healy has been named as a potential contender. Ex-Lilywhites boss Alex Neil, who was relieved of his duties as manager of Stoke City last season, is also open to a return. During his reign at Deepdale, Neil guided Preston to a seventh placed finish in 2017/18.
As of Tuesday morning, here are the latest ‘Next Preston manager’ odds, provided by SkyBet.
