Preston North End unveil former Sheffield United, Barnsley and Leeds United boss as new manager

The Lilywhites started their Championship season with a defeat to Heckingbottom’s former club, Sheffield United. Mere days later, Ryan Lowe left his role as Preston manager by mutual consent.

Former Huddersfield Town coach Mike Marsh took the reins on an interim basis, overseeing two games, but stepped down at the weekend. Heckingbottom has now been confirmed as Lowe’s permanent successor, with trusted lieutenant Stuart McCall joining as his assistant.

After being unveiled, Heckingbottom told Preston’s website: “I’m really delighted with it, ready to go, and champing at the bit really. It’s a club I know well for lots of reasons and a league I know well, so it was a pretty easy decision.

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“Experience is key. Knowing the players helps, and then having success in this league helps, so we know what it takes to compete. We know what it takes to do well and you can give that clear direction to try and get there, and that’s the aim.

“The short-term goals are to get back on track. Longer term, we want to be a really, really competitive team in this league. We want to play in a way the fans can enjoy and in a way that gets the best out of the players, and when you get that it can be really powerful.”

The 47-year-old led Sheffield United to promotion from the Championship last year, but was dismissed following an underwhelming start to life in the Premier League. He has also led Yorkshire outfits Barnsley and Leeds, as well as Scottish outfit Hibernian.

Preston director Peter Ridsdale said: “I’m delighted that Paul Heckingbottom has joined us as first-team manager. We identified that we wanted Paul to be the man to take us forward and moved swiftly over the weekend. We met on Sunday, finalised the details late last night and he’s here with us today, ready to get to work.

“I’m now looking forward with confidence with Paul and Stuart McCall in charge, and I think all Preston North End fans can be really excited about the season ahead.”