The dust is starting to settle on Paul Heckingbottom’s exit from Preston North End.
The 49-year-old departed the club on Sunday after just over two years at Deepdale, following a poor start to the season which has seen PNE lose six of their opening seven Championship games.
Below, we take a look at 10 of the highs and lows from his time in charge, plus a few honourable mentions of some of the other good times along the way.
9. Highlight: Charlton Athletic 1-2 PNE (11/4/2026)
Gentry Day 2026 was a memorable one in south-east London. After a tough few months and with the play-offs seeming a very tall order, North End produced a strong performance to earn a special win in front of 2,101 PNE fans who had made the journey to The Valley. The Addicks took the lead early on, but Dobbin equalised shortly after before Brad Potts completed the comeback with the winner on 65 minutes. | CameraSport - David Horton
10. Highlight: PNE 2-1 Blackburn Rovers (5/9/2026)
A Callum Lang double - his first two goals for the club -gave Heckingbottom and Stuart McCall their first and ultimately, only win over Rovers while at PNE. The visitors pushed for an equaliser after a Stanley Mills own goal early in the second half, but PNE dug in with a brave display off-the-ball. The above is one of many great photos of the players' celebrations on the day, most of which taking place in front of Blackburn's packed-out away end. Let's hope for more days like this soon. In terms of 'honourable mentions', a comprehensive 3-0 win over Watford early into Heckingbottom's run, an impressive victory at Southampton last November and a dramatic comeback under the Deepdale lights against Sheffield United a week earlier are also worth a shout. | CameraSport - Lee Parker