Preston North End told to make big Paul Heckingbottom call it's a "bleak" situation

FLW's Preston North End fan pundit has given his verdict on whether the club should sack manager Paul Heckingbottom after a poor start to the season.

Pressure is building on Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom after a nightmare start to the season in the Championship.

The new Championship season may only have got underway two weeks ago, but it already seems that Heckingbottom's job could be under threat at Preston as discontent among supporters increases.

Paul Heckingbottom under pressure at Preston North End as sack calls grow

Action Images

Heckingbottom has been in charge of Preston for just over two years after taking over at Deepdale in August 2024 following Ryan Lowe's resignation just one game into the season.

The Lilywhites narrowly avoided relegation on the final day of the 2024-25 campaign in Heckingbottom's first season in charge, with a 2-2 draw at Bristol City proving to be enough to preserve their Championship status.

It looked as though North End were making strong progress under Heckingbottom last season, spending much of the first half of the campaign in and around the play-off places, but a run of just four wins from their final 20 games saw their promotion push collapse, with the Lancashire outfit eventually finishing 14th.

Despite making some high-profile additions, including Harry Clarke, Alfie Devine and Stanley Mills, it has been a frustrating summer for Preston, and after the departures of the likes of Ben Whiteman and Milutin Osmajic, Heckingbottom has made no secret of his desire for further new additions before Tuesday's transfer deadline.

It has been a disastrous start to the season for North End on the pitch, with Heckingbottom's men falling to their third consecutive Championship defeat on Saturday as they were beaten 1-0 at Charlton Athletic, while they were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup last week after losing 4-0 to Premier League side Everton at Deepdale.

Clear Preston North End fan verdict issued on Paul Heckingbottom situation

Preston are one of just two sides in the Championship who are yet to pick up a point this season, along with Stoke City, and Lilywhites supporters made their feelings clear after Saturday's defeat to Charlton, with some in the away end at The Valley calling for Heckingbottom to be relieved of his duties.

When asked if the club should part company with Heckingbottom, FLW's Preston North End fan pundit Darren Watson insisted that it was time for the 49-year-old to depart, but he admitted that bigger changes are needed at the club.

"This one's really easy for me," Darren told FLW.

"On the podcasts that I do, we said last season it was time to part ways with Paul Heckingbottom.

"Getting us to 20th in his first season and 14th in his second season is not good enough.

"I don't know why we accept this mid-table mediocrity and this mindset of 'let's just stay in the Championship and survive'.

"That's just us, and it's killing us as a club, it's killing our identity as this very historic football club with a rich history, which we are.

"The current ownership, the manager, the playing style and the tactics just don't work.

"We need a drastic change from top to bottom.

"We need somebody to come in, like Amr Zedan, who is potentially going to buy the club, and completely change the hierarchy of the club from top to bottom, manager level, players and coaches.

"We need something that can bring some kind of ambition and drive us forward because, at the moment, it's looking bleak for Preston North End.

Preston North End facing big Paul Heckingbottom dilemma amid increasing fan unrest

Given the challenges he has experienced in the transfer market, it is difficult not to feel some sympathy for Heckingbottom as he comes under increasing scrutiny at Preston.

The Lilywhites spent a club-record fee of up to £6 million on Devine this summer, but given that he was already at the club on loan last season, he does not necessarily improve the squad, and while there have been further signings, Heckingbottom does not have the required depth at his disposal to seriously compete at Championship level.