He addressed his contract situation last week

Ryan Ledson recently suggested he’d like to earn a new Preston North End contract - and manager Paul Heckingbottom continues to speak highly of the midfielder.

Last weekend, Ledson captained Preston to victory at home to Coventry City - in what was his first league start under the boss. Heckingbottom, since he was appointed, has regularly used Ledson in games though.

The player was asked about his expiring deal, in last week’s press conference. The indication was that Preston’s number 18 hopes to keep impressing and contributing for the team, in a bid to earn an extension to his contract. Judging by the manager’s latest comments, he’s definitely on the right track.

When asked about Ledson skippering last week, Heckingbottom said: “Firstly, he did well and played well. The fact he was captain probably tells you what I think of him. He trains well, I like his personality. He wants to win, but does it in the right way.

“I think he gets the game, tactically, as well. So, he is an easy player to work with and coach. I think the fact I made him captain is a reflection of that. And yeah, we are well stocked in that area and people are playing well.

“It’s probably why, when we are experimenting with shapes and how we want to play, why we have settled on not veering too far away from it. We have had a lot of good, strong performances when using a lot of our midfielders.

“Which, although we are saying how much competition we’ve got in there, I think with the shape it allows us to use more of those players in good form. And, when you are making subs, you use a lot of those players as well - which is good - and they have clear roles.

“He has had three starts, but he has featured in a lot more. I think that has been a big part of our league form, in terms of picking up points. The changes from the bench have been really good and added to the performance on the pitch. So yeah, not just Ryan there, but we want that to continue.”