PNE to 'refresh squad' in summer - Heckingbottom
- Published
Preston North End will use the summer to refresh and improve their squad, says boss Paul Heckingbottom.
With loan players returning to their parent clubs and others coming to the end of their contracts, Heckingbottom believes there is an opportunity for him to stamp his mark on the squad at Deepdale.
He said there could be as many as a dozen squad places to fill but added "one or two" of the out-of-contract players "could be staying".
North End have four loan players set to leave at the end of the Championship season while six senior players, including goalkeeper Freddie Woodman and second top-scorer Emil Riis, will be out of contract.
"There's the potential to, definitely," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire when asked about a summer overhaul.
"Your loans are going to go automatically and there will be one or two who leave as well.
"So if we play it right, it's a big opportunity to refresh the squad, improve the squad and just change the dynamic of it."
Preston are 16th in the table, seven points clear of the relegation zone with five games to go, and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup where they lost 3-0 at home to Aston Villa.