‘Different team’ – Paul Heckingbottom hints at reason behind Preston North End’s worrying Championship form

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Preston North End were unable to make it back-to-back wins in the Championship on Wednesday evening as they were beaten 2-0 by Derby County.

Second-half goals from Craig Forsyth and Jerry Yates were enough to see the Rams past the Lilywhites in the East Midlands, with Paul Heckingbottom’s side’s advantage over the bottom three closing following the defeat.

Preston’s FA Cup journey came to an end after a 3-0 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday, and they were again unable to lay a thumb on their opponents as Derby came away with a comfortable victory.

Preston have won just one of their last seven matches in the Championship, and with the same number of games to go, their manager has plenty to balance in terms of team selection on a week-by-week basis.

Paul Heckingbottom shares frustration as Preston are beaten by Derby

The Lilywhites are currently 14th in the Championship table, and while they look to be secure, their gap over the relegation zone is now just seven points and they know that they must find a way to pick up victories on a more consistent basis quickly.

Heckingbottom praised Eustace while the Derby boss was at Birmingham, and has since struggled up against his managerial counterpart, only managing one win in five versus the 45-year-old.

Nevertheless, maintaining fitness at this time of the season is difficult, and April is an extremely busy month for every side in the division, but Preston are playing one more match than 22 other sides and this will no doubt be on his mind heading into a huge month of football across the EFL.

Speaking after the final whistle, Heckingbottom detailed the problems he is facing with team selection at this moment in time.

The 47-year-old explained (via: Lancashire Evening Post): “I have to pick a different team and make sure that we load the squad with players who we could come away with to play like this, just nullify that threat altogether and win the game that way.

“These games will certainly be used for that. I know I’m right with that and those points. It’s an opportunity for people to show me that they are the ones who can go and do that. Or I need to, like I said, pick different teams. Today we went with trying to get the team as fresh as possible, after Sunday.”

Preston are not guaranteed their safety in the Championship

The relegation battle in the Championship is heating up by the day, and Preston’s opponents on Wednesday, Derby, are proof that anything can happen in the space of just a few weeks.

Those towards the bottom are starting to find form at the right time, with Luton Town another side who are starting to play their hand after winning three of their last five matches, losing only once.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
12	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	39	14	10	15	54	60	-6	52
13	MillwallMillwall	39	13	12	14	37	40	-3	51
14	PrestonPreston	39	10	17	12	39	46	-7	47
15	QPRQPR	39	11	12	16	45	53	-8	45
16	SwanseaSwansea	39	12	9	18	40	51	-11	45

Heckingbottom will be keeping a keen eye on those behind him right now and he must acknowledge how important Saturday’s game against Stoke will be, with three points desperately needed.

However, the Potters are in a purple patch and they will prove to be formidable opponents at Deepdale, with over 4,000 supporters expected to make the journey up the M6 to back their team.