5 talking points after Bolton Wanderers vs Preston North End as friendly double header confirmed

Clear gaps to plug

While pre-season isn’t about results, this isn’t a game North End should’ve lost. The Lilywhites weren’t great; neither were Bolton. It was, on the whole, a pretty poor spectacle, though fiercely contested - particularly by the hosts, who pulled shirts, got stuck in and looked as though, one week out from their season opener, they’d been told to treat it like a competitive fixture.

Amario Cozier-Duberry scored a wonder goal at Hibernian recently and was allowed to cut inside twice against North End, who were punished the second time he did so. The second Wanderers goal was a dreadful one to concede on Preston’s part. Paul Heckingbottom’s side, though, ought to have been ahead.

All three strikers - Michael Smith, Daniel Jebbison and Milutin Osmajic - were unable to convert decent opportunities at nil-nil. That sharpness must be found once the proper stuff starts. Regardless, this is still a squad lacking flair and creativity - which the manager did not shy away from whatsoever in his post-match interview.

Small and Smith

The summer signings - along with Odel Offiah - were two of the better performers on the afternoon, albeit Smith will have been frustrated not to score his chance. But, the forward’s experience showed every time the ball went up to him. PNE have lacked a striker who can link play up with head and chest; this, on first viewing, is something that comes naturally to Smith.

He makes the ball stick and then has the awareness and calmness to bring others into the game. Smith probably won’t be a regular starter in the side but there is now a direct outlet for Preston to hit, and for that reason he should get his fair share of game time over the course of the season. It’s also crystal clear what Small, this time operating off the right, will bring to the table.

At the moment, the former Charlton Athletic man is the obvious player PNE look towards to make things happen. He is a completely different mould to last season’s right wing-back, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, but with Offiah behind him at right centre-back a positive partnership can hopefully be struck up. One fear at present with Small is overreliance, which may explain why Heckingbottom wants another 1v1 player.

On a more positive note - and while there’s still more to do - Preston are a greater attacking force with Small in the side. He blitzed his way past Max Conway a couple of times; composure and execution in the final third will take him to the next level. He will go at people and try to make things happen; it won’t always happen for him but it’s vital to have players like that in the team.

Small must look to mix things up and the signs are that he will do that. Cutting inside every single time will make him predictable, but we saw the 20-year-old drive on the outside, cross from the byline with his right foot and force a corner, on a few occasions at Bolton. There’s a lot to work with already, but seemingly plenty to work on as well. It’s PNE’s job to ensure he fulfills his clear potential.

Injury blow

It’s a horrible one for Jordan Thompson. All any new player will want to do is make a strong impression early doors, and the midfielder - judging by Heckingbottom’s comments - is going to have to wait a while to pull on a Preston shirt. Unsurprisingly, there was plenty of fume once that news surfaced on Sunday.

PNE CEO Peter Ridsdale was open, last week, about the fact they knew Thompson was injured. It was assured that Preston had scanned him themselves, with the midfielder expected back ‘in the next 10 days or so’. A ‘misdiagnosis’ - as Heckingbottom put it - is not a great look for anyone, including Stoke, with Thompson losing out the most.

North End made the decision to move on from Ryan Ledson and bring Thompson in - with his left-footed balance a big factor. The Northern Ireland international penned a two-year deal and was the first signing of the summer, on a free. He’ll have to get through this difficult period and seize the opportunity when it eventually arrives.

In the meantime, there will no doubt be criticism. It was a signing which received a mixed reaction, given that Thompson isn’t younger than Ledson and, like the Liverpudlian, had been in and out of the starting XI. We saw Brad Potts operate alongside Ben Whiteman at Bolton, which may be a temporary solution to the absence of Thompson.

On track for QPR?

“Everything to this point has been really good,” said Heckingbottom. “The work ethic of the players has been first-class in everything we've asked them to do. There's been a lot of different things we've put in there to break pre-season up as well.

“They've thrown themselves into 100 per cent and they've been really, really good. That's the stuff you do that's going to benefit you later on in the season. Hopefully, from minute one against QPR.”

Heckingbottom added: “The bits I'm just criticising there, nothing to do with work ethic, just messages that we speak about. Although it's not a league game, we still mention a couple of things that are really important and when we didn't do them, we got punished. So, that's not the fact we've been doing double sessions and the lads are tighter.

“That's something that I've just said will be gone now in terms of an excuse, because the work rate, what's asked of them now, is going to come down a little bit and we'll be able to focus a lot more on the performance - and the lads playing for the places in the first game.”

What next?

Heckingbottom confirmed to the Lancashire Post that the Lilywhites have two more pre-season friendlies arranged. Bolton was the last one for fans to attend, prior to the start of the Championship campaign. PNE kick off at QPR on Saturday, 9 August.

“We've got a couple more arranged... Friday, Saturday for ourselves against good opposition, so we can get 90 minutes into everyone, really,” said Heckingbottom. “That's the aim.

“You're not making subs to try and win the game in these games, it's just about getting 90 minutes. But we will look after the players leading up and there'll be a lot less intense work that we do next week.”

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