Preston North End have sacked Paul Heckingbottom following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Lincoln City at Deepdale.
Freddie Draper’s winner gave us our first victory there in 30 years. For Preston, it was a sixth defeat in seven Championship games this season, and the final whistle brought boos and jeers from the home crowd.
The result left North End second bottom of the table and it also brought an end to Heckingbottom’s time in charge, with the club pointing to a longer run of results: Preston have won just five of their 27 league games since the start of January.
“Football is a results business and despite significant investment in the playing squad since Paul joined, the results during 2026 and the start of this current campaign have not been acceptable.
“Paul leaves us with our thanks and best wishes. His professionalism and work ethic during his time with us have been second to none.”
Heckingbottom was appointed in August 2024 and took charge of 109 games. Assistant Stuart McCall has also left, while coach Jason Euell will take interim charge ahead of Saturday’s trip to QPR.
There was already frustration among Preston supporters before we arrived at Deepdale. City had to withstand spells of pressure, but the changes in the second half swung the game our way. Draper came off the bench to score, while our defence held firm to secure a win that means a great deal to us and has proved costly for Heckingbottom.
The former Leeds boss was asked on Friday if he feared the sack, to which he replied:
“If you’re scared of that, why would you come into it? It’s never an issue. Honestly, you can’t be worried and nervous about your job when you’re a football manager.
“You just can’t. You’ve got to think differently to everyone else.
“If you didn’t want the hassle, you didn’t want the stuff that comes with it, you don’t do it. There’s plenty of other things you can do.”
It’s the first time a game against the Imps has directly led to a sacking since Mark Bonner left Cambridge United in November 2023 after we won 3-0 there. A handful have gone a couple of games later, including Ryan Lowe (Wigan) and Darrell Clarke (Barnsley).
Each bar shows the two sides' share of that row's total, so it says who had more — not whether it was good, which would need a league-wide distribution this one match cannot provide.
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