Ex-PNE manager Alex Neil watched his old club’s draw with Burnley on Sky Sports.
Alex Neil believes Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom has had a significant impact on the Lilywhites’ performance, particularly out of possession. Neil was in the Sky Sports studio with former Preston North End striker David Nugent ahead of Saturday’s Lancashire derby at Turf Moor. Pre-match, Heckingbottom was interviewed live by the panel, with Neil praising North End’s work off the ball. He told Heckingbottom, “I’ve obviously been at Preston, a terrific club. I watched you play against Watford and was particularly surprised by how effective you were when the opposing team had the ball, and I believe you’ve made excellent strides to develop. So, when the enemy has the ball, how dangerous are you if you turn it over?” “Yeah, we are trying,” Heckingbottom said. “It’s a way that, as you know, I enjoy playing. I want to be more assertive. I can’t take being a passive teammate. Even if you’re defending your own box or defensive third, you still need aggression to win the ball back, in my opinion. We can go higher up the pitch
The more we do this, the more effective we will be at creating additional opportunities through turnovers, as you mentioned. “Because providing opportunities has been an issue. It does not come as a shock to me. You arrive to the work with your eyes wide open. You have a general understanding of where the squad stands, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. And, yes, turning the ball over more frequently, particularly higher up the pitch, is an effective approach to create opportunities.”
Neil, along with former Derby County defender Curtis Davies and presenter David Prutton, looked at the average positions of PNE players during games. The two matches compared were North End’s first-day defeat to Sheffield United under Ryan Lowe and last Wednesday’s 3-0
victory over Watford. Neil described Preston’s resolve to go after the ball that night. “Yeah, just an aggressive stance,” Neil replied. “So, if you look at the setup in the middle of the pitch, they used a diamond there. And what they did was have Osmajic as a striker take care of his central defender, and then they would take care of the sides. Either side of the diamond, with Ali McCann and Thordarson.”They would activate the press, allowing others behind them to effectively back them up and compact the area. They left the ball behind, and the goalkeeper’s starting position was also high, to ensure he could mop up anything that went into
The channel. This allowed them to play aggressively and turn the ball over against Watford.”
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