Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe explains stance on U23s side and wants focus on promotion instead

North End’s academy is limited to an U19 side, with their U18s also playing in the FA Youth Cup – reaching the quarter finals last season. Preston currently operate with a category three academy, with more full time jobs and an artificial surface amongst the requirements to step up to category two, both of which will cost the club money although chairman Craig Hemmings confirmed in his club update on Thursday that they are looking into ways to secure an artificial pitch to use.

There have been calls in the past for PNE to focus more efforts on improving their youth system, within that, generating an U23 side that could bridge the gap between youth football and the first team.

Lowe currently has a growing crop of players that have done well in the academy and are looking to break into the first team squad, such as the likes of Lewis Leigh, Jacob Slater, Finlay Cross-Adair, Noah Mawene and Kaedyn Kamara who all made their debuts last term. Kian Taylor, Kian Best and Kitt Nelson all signed pro terms at the end of the season, too.

But PNE are dealing with the U23s in their own way, with bespoke sessions with first team coaching staff, Lowe feeling that promotion is more important than focusing efforts and resources in the forming pf a new branch of the academy.

He said: “We have a 23s with us now that is with us most days. Gally (Paul Gallagher, first team coach) will take them for afternoon sessions or we'll do sessions after training. Maybe we'll have players up here a bit more and use the core of the group.

"Just because we haven't got an U23s doesn't mean we don't utilise it. They have sessions but our focus has to be all on the first team because U23s don't get you promoted or in the play-offs.

"First team players and first team squads do, of course. We've got some fantastic players and we'll use the loan system to get them out to get that valuable experience that is needed.”