Preston North End's David Moyes chances shot down by Rangers legend as Sky Sports duo defend Ryan Lowe

Sky Sports pundit Kris Boyd does not believe there is any chance of David Moyes becoming Preston North End’s new manager.

The Lilywhites are looking to appoint a new boss, after Ryan Lowe’s two-and-a-half year tenure came to an end on Monday. North End icon Moyes left West Ham United this summer and is the second favourite with the bookies (14/08, 09:44). In Boyd’s opinion, though, a return to Deepdale is definitely not on the cards for the 61-year-old.

He said: “I think the other names, there is more of a chance of them. I cannot see David Moyes - he is probably sitting there and thinking to himself he’ll wait until Christmas and probably land a Premier League job. There is absolutely no chance that David Moyes is the next manager of Preston. Yes, you can look at his connections before and link him with it - but there is no chance. I think Tim (Sherwood) is 100 per cent right.

“Preston, I think they are happy enough to stay in the Championship. They aren’t going to go down and, to be honest, they probably don’t want to come up either. They are happy just being a Championship club and that is where they are comfortable and happy. The wage budget doesn’t need to be stretched to the max and maybe, maybe Ryan Lowe has just tested them - in terms of ‘Can we go and push on?’.

“The Championship this year could be one of the most open for years and Ryan Lowe would probably be looking and saying: ‘Can I get another three or four players here, to push us towards those play-offs?’ Maybe that has just been enough for Preston to say: ‘Right, OK, we can’t continue like this - we are happy being a Championship club, we move on and go get somebody else in’. But I’ll say it again, there is absolutely no chance David Moyes is anywhere near Preston.”

North End director Peter Ridsdale made it clear before the summer transfer window, that ‘four or five’ players would be targeted. Preston wrapped up their fourth signing of the summer on Tuesday - Jeppe Okkels, from FC Utrecht, for a reported £1.7million. Iceland international Stefan Thordarson signed back in July, for a fee in the region of £800,000. Sam Greenwood and Kaine Kesler-Hayden have been brought in on loan from Leeds United and Aston Villa respectively.

During Lowe’s tenure, a fee in excess of £1m was spent to sign Danish midfielder Mads Frokjaer from Odense BK - while PNE also broke the club’s transfer record, to recruit Milutin Osmajic from Cadiz last summer for £2.1m. Lowe was said to have pushed for the exit on Sunday, insisting to Ridsdale he felt he could not take the club any further.

North End recorded 64, 63 and 63 points in the three seasons under Lowe, with 13th, 12th and 10th placed finishes. Pressure to start the 2024/25 campaign well was always there, after North End lost six of the final eight games last season - winning one and failing to score in seven. Boyd’s fellow Sky Sports pundit, Paul Merson, felt Lowe did a ‘phenomenal job’ at Deepdale.

He said: “It does surprise me, one game in. I think you’ve got to be careful what you wish for, the Preston fans. I heard he was getting booed, Ryan. He is a good manager. I think he has punched well above his weight, with the wage bill and budget they have. I think those fans will be very disappointed in the long run. I think he has done a great job and I don’t think it will be long before he gets another job. He has gone under the radar - what he has done at Preston is absolutely phenomenal. And, I think that will be proven at the end of the season with where they finish.”