'No friction' - What Preston North End's boss wants from 2024 signing after competition heats up

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom wants Stefan Thordarson to be ready to seize his opportunity.

The Iceland international joined the club last summer and made 47 appearances across all competitions - with 36 of those starts. This campaign, Thordarson has had to bide his time, with 347 minutes played across seven outings.

Captain Ben Whiteman has forged a consistent partnership with Ali McCann in midfield. Tottenham Hotspur loan man Alfie Devine has made his mark on the XI, while Everton loanee Harrison Armstrong started both games before the break.

Last month, Heckingbottom discussed both Thordarson and fellow midfielder Mads Frokjaer - who has also featured predominantly on the bench. He mentioned potentially creating ‘friction’ with players but hopes Thordarson, and the rest of his squad, respond in the right way.

“Yeah, there's no friction with me and Stef,” said Heckingbottom. “I like working with friction but I know not everyone does - it's not what gets everyone going. When I played, you like to feel like you start every week and feel loved, but some of my best games came after I'd been left out. From my conversation with Stef, he's been training well, he needs to keep training well and you never know when opportunities are going to come by.

“And I've said that to all the players... it could be because of the fixture list, it could be because of the next opponent and we want to change things, it could be because of someone's loss of form, an injury, a suspension. It could be because we changed shape totally, and the last thing I'd want is a player not to be prepared enough to get a shirt and keep a shirt, when we give them that chance.”

In the second half of the previous campaign Thordarson started most matches, providing five goal contributions after the turn of the year. This season, on paper, looked like being a big one for him. Heckingbottom is aware of likely disappointment on the number 22’s part, but reiterated how important he deemed it to freshen things up.

“Yeah, it will be,” said Heckingbottom. “You don't want players who would rather be on the bench than starting but likewise, Stef is not the only one in that position who's not starting at the minute regularly. Other people have come and performed really, really well and that's what we wanted, that was the idea.

“If I'd have kept it the same way from last season, kept the squad together, why should I expect any different? So that's how I approached. I pushed everyone and tried to back everyone enough so we could make enough change in the squad and improve it.

“One of the things is competition, one of the things is quality - raising the bar quality-wise - and hopefully, everyone comes with that and people can see the levels that we need to be at to compete at the top.”

Your next PNE read: When Preston North End can expect Milutin Osmajic verdict