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PNE signed two wide players in the summer transfer window
Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom’s long-term vision for his team features wingers.
Of late, in the absence of the injured Robbie Brady, the PNE boss has turned to Brad Potts and Kaine Kesler-Hayden as wing-backs. Last weekend, though, on-loan Nottingham Forest man Josh Bowler did make his first start since late September.
In the main, game time for him and fellow summer recruit, Jeppe Okkels, has been in relatively short supply. Heckingbottom only had 10 days of the transfer window to utilise, after being appointed as boss, and made Bowler his one and only addition.
The January window is not far away, which will present the Preston chief an opportunity to add to his squad further. Heckingbottom has been in the hot seat for three-and-a-half months and no doubt learned a lot about his squad. Moving forward, he has a clear picture of his system and structure.
"With the ball, yeah, 100 per cent similar," said Heckingbottom, to the Lancashire Post. "Without the ball may change, depending on what personnel we have got in the team. I would rather have wingers. Kaine, for example, people said he didn't have his best game the other night (at Stoke).
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“He made mistakes with the ball, but he kept their best player quiet and was still a threat going the other way. That is one player on our team, keeping their right winger quiet and still being a threat going the other way. That takes a lot of doing, you know? When you have got players can do that, it's ideal.
“So, he played left-back for us and was still a threat. So yeah, you would love that and then, if you had wingers who are productive, you could play them in front - or on the other side - and still have the same balance with the ball. So yeah, always looking and pushing. It will always be about what players are producing, that is it."
PNE’s squad has been built to play with a back three and wing-backs over the last few years, therefore it is no great surprise the manager has - mostly - stuck by that so far. The preference - albeit North End went with a back four last time out - does beg the question of whether additions, elsewhere in the team, could allow Heckingbottom to play wingers more often. He doesn’t particularly see it that way, though.
"Luton at home we played with wing-backs," said Heckingbottom, prior to facing West Brom. "Then, after that, Sam (Greenwood) played as a wide player at Oxford and Jeppe (Okkels) played as a wide player at Boro. Then, it was Josh (Bowler’s) turn. The Cup games, we have done it with the wingers.
“That is one winger on one side, so you still get into the same shape. But again, it is about being productive. When we have not been performing, you have got to put other players in. That is my job, to put the most competitive team out. And, at the minute, it has been without a winger in."
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