Ex-Sunderland and Stoke City boss' 'same fear' for old club Preston North End as transfer prediction issued

Ex-Preston North End manager Alex Neil still has concerns for the Lilywhites’ threat in the final third.

The Lilywhites, after 15 games, are 20th in the Championship table with 15 points on the board. The gap to 11th placed Swansea City is four points, with the second tier shaping up to be as tight as ever. But, PNE currently find themselves at the wrong end of the table.

Last Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to strugglers Portsmouth was a blow, with North End heading into the latest international break winless in their last five league outings. Neil believes Heckingbottom has improved one side of PNE’s game, but that their attacking potency is still a worry.

"I spoke about Preston the last time I was on and what worried me was how they were going to score goals, and how creative they can be," said Neil. "Are they going to have to change their shape, to get more players up the pitch?

“Because, the one thing I thought Paul improved drastically, when I was watching them, was their set-up when they didn't have the ball - how well they pressed the ball and how aggressive they were. I think they have continued that in a lot of their games I have watched.

“But, I still have the same fear in terms of have you got that little bit of magic? Which, a Liam Millar had last season for instance, where he could sort of dip past somebody and put one in the top, far corner. In the Championship, a lot of the time that is the difference between winning and losing.

“Currently, for Preston, I know in the first half they had 14 shots against them - albeit only three on target - but Preston had none. They had no shots at Portsmouth's goal, which is a real concern. There is nothing worse than watching your team get bullied.

“If you go anywhere and get outfought and outran - the basics of football - and your players basically don’t do that, or compete to any sort of level, it doesn’t matter who you are playing against. You are going to find it really difficult.

“That is really, really difficult to accept as a coach because it looks as though they are sort of not putting everything into it - and I am sure that is not the case, knowing the players that are there. But, in that game they just weren’t at the races unfortunately.

“The league table at the moment won’t be his most worrying thing. The reason being is that there is so long of the season to go. You have got a January window coming up. I am pretty certain that if Preston are anywhere near around where they are at the moment, they will act.

“I have got no doubt in my mind about that; they will try and strengthen that squad. Once he gets to the end of January, going into February, that league table will be of paramount importance at that stage - in terms of where they are and what they need to do.”