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Paul Heckingbottom has enjoyed a wonderful start to the campaign with Preston North End, and he will be hoping to continue this early season momentum on Saturday.
The Lilywhites face Derby County at Pride Park this weekend, a fixture in which they were beaten 2-0 in 2024/25. However, after five games, they currently sit eighth, far exceeding the expectations that many had of them.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 5 |  West BromWest Brom | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| 6 |  CoventryCoventry | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 7 |  SwanseaSwansea | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 8 |  PrestonPreston | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| 9 |  PortsmouthPortsmouth | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 10 |  NorwichNorwich | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 |  BirminghamBirmingham | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 7 |
Nevertheless, the Rams have a new-found confidence following their 1-0 victory over promotion hopefuls West Brom last weekend, and the Lancashire outfit will be well aware of the threat that Saturday’s hosts possess.
Yet, for Heckingbottom, there is one other problem that will be of huge concern to him, and it involves a situation involving his Preston side and the referee for their visit to Derby.
Paul Heckingbottom was left frustrated with referee Lewis Smith in March vs Sunderland
Lewis Smith will officiate the Lilywhites’ trip to the East Midlands, although this may raise some alarm bells for the away team’s head coach following an incident against Sunderland in March.
Following numerous injuries, Heckingbottom tried to make changes, but Preston were set to make their third lot of substitutions and in the confusion, Jayden Meghoma had stayed on the pitch, meaning that they had 12 players on the pitch.
This was soon sorted, but the Lilywhites were down to 10 as Ryan Porteous received treatment, allowing Sunderland to score the equaliser, leaving the Preston boss fuming.
Heckingbottom said (via: Sunderland Echo): “They scored when we had ten men on, didn’t they? That’s the problem. We had players out of position so that we could get that man on. Pottsy’s done his hamstring. The officials were poor as well.
“Tom on the side is telling us we can’t make another sub, until the ball is back in play we can. That’s another reason it took so long, they’re telling me we can’t make a sub. You can, until the ball is back in play. It was absolute carnage and I thought we were the coolest heads out there to be fair. When you’ve got officiating like that, appalling.
“We’d done the subs, we’d been thinking about Ched [Evans] but we’d done the subs and then Pottsy told us he had done his hamstring. That was my insistence [that we’d make another sub]. They’d have had us playing with ten men for the last twenty minutes. They weren’t accepting the card or the board, so it almost went back in play.”
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Lewis Smith’s refereeing record so far this season
Saturday will be Lewis Smith’s third Championship game of the campaign so far, with the official having already taken charge of Stoke City’s 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday, as well as Middlesbrough’s 1-0 victory at home to Sheffield United.
He handed out three yellow cards in each of those games, while he has also officiated a Premier League club in the Carabao Cup, as Fulham beat Bristol City 2-0 in round two last month.
Smith’s record this season suggests that he has been relatively lenient and Heckingbottom will hope that this style remains as Preston prepare for the trip to Derby.
However, the Lilywhites’ head coach may also feel as though he is owed a favour by the referee at Pride Park following the situation at the Stadium of Light earlier this year.