Paul Heckingbottom responds to Ryan Ledson exit talk as Preston North End contract decisions made

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom says most out of contract players have been informed of their futures at the club.

In the final few months of their deals at Deepdale are Freddie Woodman, Ryan Ledson, Robbie Brady, Emil Riis, Patrick Bauer and Ched Evans - along with a handful of young players. Heckingbottom admits the conversations are never easy and that it’s important to go about them in the right way.

“Majority, yeah,” said Heckingbottom, when asked if decisions have now been communicated. “It's not nice but I think there's a way to do it and I think the more honest you can be, the better. It's pointless getting fobbed off if it's bad news.

“And if it's good news, there still has to be a reality with how it's delivered because we're not saying at we're good enough now. There still has to be a demand that there's improvement. It's never a good time but it's worse, believe me, when you've won things and done things together and then you're giving bad news to people. That's horrible.

“It's never nice but as I say, I think there's a way to do it... try and be as honest as possible. Just treat it with respect because, you know, everyone’s got opinions of footballers, or working in the industry. But you are people, you’re parents, your’re families, it's your own career. And when you're delivering bad news, I think you have to be mindful of that.”

“That has to be done in the right way...”

News surfaced on Thursday that Ledson’s time at PNE will come to an end this summer, after seven years at the club. North End will announce its retained list at the end of the 2024/25 campaign and given it is just reports at this stage, the Preston manager didn’t wish to confirm anything in his press conference.

“I wouldn't say if it's true or not, simply because I think that's bad... and all together, I've done that with everyone,” said Heckingbottom. “You've mentioned lots of people all the time. Are they staying? Are they not staying? I'm not going to say yes or no about any of the lads yet.

“That has to be done in the right way, at the right time. But in terms of Ledo... everyone knows what I think of Ledo. I mean, when Ben (Whiteman) was out, he was the captain straight away. I just think his personality is top, yeah, top.”

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