PNE was defeated 3-1 by Millwall on Saturday.

Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom admits he is still learning about his players.

On Saturday, the Lilywhites suffered their second Championship defeat under the 47-year-old, losing 3-1 to Millwall at The Den. North End currently has five points on the board, with Heckingbottom taking control in late August.

It’s now home to Watford on Wednesday night, followed by another Lancashire derby at Turf Moor next Saturday. For the first time as manager, Heckingbottom expressed disappointment following Millwall’s defeat. He understands that he has a lot of thinking to do before facing the Hornets.
“It is always the case, because we are still learning about all of the boys,” Heckingbottom explained. “Certainly, this is the case, and it will most likely continue. It’s just dreadful sitting here after being beaten, no matter what occurred. These are most likely two different concerns. If we had won, I would be sitting here elated, but with headaches about what I was going to do on Wednesday. When you win, it’s much simpler to focus about the following game.

He made two changes at The Den, returning Will Keane to the team and giving Duane Holmes his first league start of the season. Heckingbottom has been giving the American minutes and, in the absence of suspended Sam Greenwood, believed it was time to give Holmes an opportunity.

“He’s been pushing,” Heckingbottom explained. “He’s performed well in cup games and every other time he’s appeared on the field. He deserved it. Again, we had to make changes, and the lads who came on had a noticeable good impact on the pitch. It was difficult for them because the game had already ended. If we’d gotten anything out of it, it would have been an incredible comeback.

“Because of the nature of the game, the second half had a higher danger factor in terms of possession and territory. The support was fantastic, and you could see they probably responded strongly to the lads that came on and stayed with it. I’m glad we met that objective for everyone, so there’s that. But, when your objective is to try and win a game, I’m more concerned about the first half.”

There were components of the performance at South Bermondsey that the PNE manager ‘didn’t like. Any manager would not want to describe their side as ‘outfought’ or ‘outcompeted’ after the game. But Heckingbottom claims he has no reservations about his players’ character.

“No, we competed but we did the wrong things,” he said! “We played too slowly, which Millwall is OK with. Those occasions when we had to sprint, play at a high speed, and recover to achieve our own goal. The second half was slightly different. Millwall was recovering towards their goal, and we had them defending their box much more. In the first half, we did not do that. It is too simple for me to say that we did not compete. We simply weren’t forceful enough to put our approach on the game.

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