Preston North End boss and former Leeds and Sheffield United manager opens up on the ‘frustrating’ aspect of the job.

PNE boss may occasionally turn the media reigns over to his assistant, Stuart McCall.
Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom says that media duties can be ‘frustrating’ at times. Managers nowadays spend a lot of time in front of the microphone and camera. During a three-game week, the 47-year-old may speak five times: twice before the game and three times after.

Stuart McCall, PNE’s assistant coach, has stood in for one pre-match press conference this season. But it is an important aspect of the job, and Heckingbottom often speaks for 10-20 minutes per press conference. While his interviews have been positively received by supporters, there is one aspect he is not pleased about.

“Media? Yeah, we should double them up more, don’t we?” Heckingbottom joked. “Saturdays and Tuesdays… You just feel like you’re saying the same thing over and over, don’t you? Also, you know I’m not telling you everything I’m thinking or saying to them.And there’s no way I’m providing you information that the opposition can use. That’s aggravating because you know you’re half-fobbing folks off. But you can’t do it because you’d be giving away too much. So, yes, that is the toughest part of it… but we have to do it.”

Life in the Championship, from a media perspective, is However, it is far more mild than the Premier League. That is something Heckingbottom experienced while in command of Sheffield United, and Wednesday night’s cup tie against Arsenal served as a reminder of that. Following the 0-3 defeat, Heckingbottom gave four separate interviews to TV, radio, print, and club media. Managers in the top division are frequently asked about a wide range of things outside of their particular clubs. “Oh, it’s crackers there, yeah,” Heckingbottom remarked. “Sometimes you get the ones where it may be a Scandinavian or East Asian (journalist) and all they are concerned about is one player who has been on the pitch – and they can be quite rude and patronizing of everything else at your club and what you are doing. But, you have to do it because that is what generates revenue.”