Preston North End are on the search for a new manager after Paul Heckingbottom left the club on Sunday.
His departure follows a poor start to the season for North End, who have lost six out of their seven Championship games and sit second-from-bottom of the league.
It is therefore imperative that the club get this appointment right. From experienced Championship coaches to established lower league names, here are some managers that the PNE hierarchy could be looking at.
5. Dave Chalinor
Another manager with no Championship experience, but he has done a stellar job wherever he has been. Over eight years at AFC Fylde, Challinor won promotion three times as the Coasters rose from the eighth tier to the fifth, and also won the FA Trophy in his final full season. He then joined Hartlepool, who he led back to League Two in 2021. Stockport appointed him in November of that year and he enjoyed two promotions in three years. After losing in the League One play-off final in May 2026, Challinor left the Hatters by mutual consent. He has a track record of success at every club he has managed, but that has involved substantial financial backing, and often been at non-league level. League One to Championship is a huge jump. | Getty Images
6. Who do PNE fans want?
After posing the question over on Facebook page, it's clear that some fans would welcome someone completely different from the aforementioned five. Over the past few years, the vast majority of clubs in the second-tier have hired at least one European manager with no prior Championship experience. While those appointments have had varying success club to club, you look at the jobs Hull City's Bosnian gaffer Sergej Jakirovic and Swansea City's Portuguese chief Vitor Matos are doing, for example, and wonder if PNE should explore that avenue as well. Ex-Mainz boss Bo Henriksen and current Excelsior manager Ruben den Uil are just two names mentioned online by supporters. Essentially, fans want a coach who will give them hope again: in the short term, push them up the table and out of danger, but in the longer term, get them challenging for the club's ultimate goal: to reach the Premier League. | World Copyright © 2026 CameraSport. All rights reserved.