'Realistically...' - EFL pundit grades Preston North End's season as Paul Heckingbottom verdict given
It was Paul Heckingbottom’s first full season as PNE manager
Preston North End had an ‘above average’ 2025/26 season in the view of ‘Not The Top 20’ co-host, George Elek.
The podcast has provided leading coverage and analysis of the English Football League since 2016. One of the latest episodes of NTT20 saw each Championship club’s season graded out of 10. Elek was glass half full when it came to North End, regardless of the position they found themselves in at the half-way point.
“I’ve got them as a seven, which might seem quite strange for a team that finished 14th,” said Elek. “But in my mind, Preston North End being a team who haven’t had to think about the prospect of relegation all season, who’ve spent a lot of the campaign in and around the play-off area...
“Expectations obviously change then, and there might be this perception of, ‘But we fell away from the play-offs’. But you know, realistically, having Preston there in the first place was a job well done.
“I think Hecky did incredibly well to get them there. They only fell out of the top half on the final day. It may not be glitzy; it may not be glamorous. It may, to an extent, be what Preston fans have got used to.
“But in a period of transition at the moment, where Hecky is trying to change the playing style and refresh the playing staff - with a lot of loanees and young players - I think there’s a lot to be said for spending most of the season dreaming, rather than being worried about what might happen at the other end. So, a decent season for Preston, above average.”