Preston North End

Preston midfielder Stefan Thordarson joins Ben Croucher on The Football News Show to look ahead to Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final against Premier League side Aston Villa.

He says they have been working on their set-pieces and are "well prepared" for the challenges Unai Emery's side may pose.

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Ryan Porteous believes joining Preston has strengthened his position in the plans of Scotland manager Steve Clarke.

The defender has made 12 international appearances and is in the squad for Scotland's two-legged Nations League play-off against Greece during the current international break.

The 25-year-old moved to Deepdale on loan from Watford on transfer deadline day and has featured in all eight of their Championship games since signing.

"I've come in to bring Preston short-term success and put myself in the best position to be ready for the internationals coming up and I think I've done that," Porteous told BBC Radio Lancashire, external.

"My goals were to come, play for Preston, do the best I can for them and put myself in the best position in the eyes of Steve Clarke."

Porteous scored his first goal for the club in last Saturday's 2-1 win over Portsmouth which has kept Preston nestled in mid-table - 11 points above the bottom three and 10 adrift of the top six.

"When I was joining I spoke to the manager and (defender) Liam Lindsay who I obviously know really well and wanted to get an idea of what the club was like," Porteous added.

"He sold the club to me in a five or 10 minute phone call so I knew what I was coming into."

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Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom has been speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire after the 2-1 win over Portsmouth.

"Their (Portsmouth's) organisation is good, they make it difficult, so I felt we were accepting that in the first half," he said.

"We weren't, but I felt they were having too big an impact on how we wanted to play. We needed to change it and then we did.

"I enjoyed watching the second half, I enjoyed being part of it and we created enough chances to win, which is the pleasing thing.

"I'm really, really pleased with the win."

Portsmouth make the trip to Preston North End on Saturday (15:00 GMT) as they look to climb further away from the threat of relegation.

Pompey claimed a huge win over Leeds United on the weekend, but then lost out to bottom side Plymouth Argyle in the midweek.

The Hampshire team got the better of North End in the reverse fixture back in November, though that was at Fratton Park where Pompey have picked up most of their Championship wins this season - only two of their 11 have come on the road.

• Preston are unbeaten in their last 10 league games against Portsmouth at Deepdale (W6 D4), with this their first meeting since March 2013 in League One, a 1-1 draw.

• Portsmouth are looking to complete a league double over Preston North End for the first time since the 1969-70 season.

• Eight of Preston's last 11 league games at Deepdale have been draws (W3), including each of their last three. They've only lost one out of 17 on home soil under Paul Heckingbottom (W6 D10).

• Portsmouth have lost 12 of their last 16 away league games (W2 D2), including eight of their last nine (W1).

• Portsmouth's Josh Murphy has scored in each of his last two Championship games against Preston, while he's also scored in his most recent appearance at Deepdale in April 2017 for Norwich.

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Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom wants his defenders to score more goals to take the burden off the forwards.

The Lilywhites have scored just 37 goals this season, the fifth fewest in the division and Heckingbottom has laid the gauntlet down to the back line, who he says should contribute more in the final third.

Jordan Storey and Andrew Hughes have just one goal each among Preston's defenders, with Liam Lindsay, Ryan Porteous, Jack Whatmough and Lewis Gibson yet to find the target.

"How many goals have our centre-backs scored this season? Nowhere near enough," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"They should be chipping in, from corners, free kicks and all set plays. That changes the dynamic of the game across the board."

Preston host Portsmouth on Saturday at Deepdale and are expected to be without midfielder Brad Potts due to a hamstring injury.

Storey could also return having been out since January, and Heckingbottom is hoping his side can pick up from their performance in Tuesday's draw at Sunderland.

"I was really pleased. There were so many good examples of our work against certain systems," Heckingbottom added. "Consistency has been good, but we've got to win when playing well."

Preston North End striker Emil Riis is yet to be offered a new contract by the club, according to manager Paul Heckingbottom.

The Danish forward scored his 10th goal of the season in North End's draw at Sunderland on Tuesday with his current contract expiring in the summer.

"As it stands he will be leaving. It's not up to me, it's up to Emil," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"Any player who is out of contract, it's totally up to them what they do."

Riis arrived at Deepdale from Danish Superliga team Randers in October 2020 and has scored 39 goals in 114 league starts.

Heckingbottom is unsure whether a new deal will be offered to the 26-year-old who could move on for free at the end of the season.

''We don't want any players here who don't want to be here and likewise players don't want to play for a club that doesn't want them," he added.

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Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom was full of praise for his side after their 1-1 draw at Sunderland.

Romaine Mundle's strike four minutes from time rescued a point for the Black Cats after Emil Riis had put Preston ahead.

Heckingbottom admitted he was frustrated to be pegged back, but was proud of his players' performance.

"I'm delighted with the team. They were excellent," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I've said how consistent we've been but the other consistent thing has been not picking up three points when we've been really good.

"That is the story of our season, really. We've got to be better in key positions. We've not been clinical enough, shown enough quality and our decision making [hasn't always been right]. I can't criticise anything tonight."

Heckingbottom also credited his players' strength of character despite conceding late on.

"We were good throughout. Not many teams come here and dominate the ball. I thought we were the coolest heads out there," he added.

Preston North End will look to put an end to their five game winless league streak as they make the trip to Sunderland on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

The Lilywhites narrowly lost to boss Paul Heckingbottom's former side Sheffield United on the weekend to see themselves without a win in the Championship since defeating Norwich City on 11 February (D3 L2).

Sunderland, however, have won their past two games to remain within eight points of the top two and are now 15 points clear of seventh-placed Bristol City in the play-off places.

The Black Cats drew at Preston in a goalless reverse fixture back in November.

• Sunderland have won just two of their last 10 league games (D3 L5) against Preston North End, though one victory came in this exact fixture last season (2-0).

• Preston North End have won just two of their last 23 away league games against Sunderland (D13 L8), though those two wins have come across their last four visits to the Stadium of Light.

• Only Leeds United (2.30) and Burnley (2.27) have averaged more points per game across midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Championship games this season than Sunderland, with the Black Cats averaging 2.11 per game (P9 W5 D4).

• Only Burnley (25) and Leeds United (23) have earned more points in midweek games (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) in the Championship this season than Preston (20), with the Lilywhites losing just one of their 11 such games in 2024-25 (W5 D5).

• In his managerial career, Preston's Paul Heckingbottom has never lost a league game against Sunderland in six matches (W4 D2) with four different clubs (Barnsley, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Preston).

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Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom felt his side 'went into their shell' as they tried to keep their hosts at bay during Sheffield United's early onslaught at Bramall Lane.

North End managed to weather the initial storm and kept the contest scoreless until the second half, when they conceded the only goal of the game to Tyrese Campbell.

Heckingbottom, who was returning to Bramall Lane for the first time since leaving his role as Blades manager in 2023, told BBC Radio Lancs: "Because of the problems they were causing us, we were on the back foot and much more apprehensive than we normally are as a team.

"We went into our shell a little bit. First half hour they caused us a lot of problems, probably more than most have this season, with their front four – but after that we got to grips with it.

"I've been involved in enough games at Bramall Lane to know that to come here you've got to play well and take your moments, then you've got to have the big decisions go your way. We didn't take our moments and we didn't have the big decisions.

"We restricted them to very little in the second half but then that one moment, that one lapse, they score. Even though we had moments we struggled to get the goal, which the effort probably deserved."

Adam Cottier
BBC Radio Lancashire sport

Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom says he contemplated quitting first-team management before joining Sheffield United as under-23s coach five years ago.

Heckingbottom had been sacked as manager of Scottish Premiership side Hibernian a few months earlier.

After the departure of Slavisa Jokanovic in November 2021, Heckingbottom returned to management once more, appointed permanently after two caretaker spells, and eventually led the Blades to promotion to the Premier League in 2023.

''Lots of things about managing don't appeal to me - I actually found the [under-23s] job a bit harder, I'd go home with more headaches and more frustrations,'' Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

''The second time was a no-brainer for me when I had the opportunity to work with the people I wanted to work with. I was already embedded in the club and that makes a massive difference.

"You feel more responsibility to do it. I knew the first-team players and the academy players coming through. I had a big belief we could achieve something. I loved my three-and-half years there.''

Asked why he did not want to go back into management in 2020, Heckingbottom did not want to elaborate, other than to say: ''Loads of reasons, that's another story.''

Heckingbottom is nearly seven months into the latest chapter of his managerial career. His Preston side are 15th in the Championship, but have an FA Cup quarter-final to look forward to after the international break

A first return to Sheffield United on Saturday will be just another game for Heckingbottom.

'I'd have loved to go back as a fan but as it stands I am going back to try and win - so as it stands it's business as usual," he added.

Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom visits his former side Sheffield United on Saturday (15:00 GMT) as the Blades look to stay in an automatic promotion spot.

Heckingbottom earned promotion with the South Yorkshire side in 2023 but departed the club after two years in charge when the Blades hit the bottom of the Premier League the following December.

United were later relegated back to the Championship but have thrived this campaign under boss Chris Wilder, with six points separating them from league leaders Leeds and a two point cushion over Burnley in third.

• Sheffield United have won each of their last three league games against Preston North End and could win four in succession for the first time since November 1968.

• Preston North End have failed to win any of their last seven league games against Sheffield United (D2 L5), since a 1-0 win at Bramall Lane in April 2018.

• Sheffield United have lost three of their last seven home Championship matches (W3 D1), more than they had in their previous 23 at this level at Bramall Lane (W20 D1 L2). They haven't lost consecutive home Championship games since October 2021.

• This game will see Preston's Paul Heckingbottom face his former side Sheffield United for the first time since he left the club in 2023. It's his first league meeting with the Blades since February 2018 in his first game as Leeds boss, losing 2-1 at Bramall Lane.

• Ben Brereton has been involved in five goals in his last six Championship appearances for Sheffield United (3 goals, 2 assists), while he has either scored or assisted in each of his last five starts against Preston North End (3 goals, 4 assists) in the competition.

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Paul Heckingbottom wants to ban talk of the FA Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa as his full focus is on Preston North End's Championship game against Swansea City.

North End are 15th but could close within seven points of the play-off places with a victory on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

Heckingbottom says it's not an "insurmountable" gap to close in the final 12 games, despite taking just five points from their five matches before Saturday's 3-0 win over Burnley, which teed-up the date with Villa in the last eight.

"It's not insurmountable, but something's got to change," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire. "I have been happy with our form in terms of performances but our points haul needs to change totally.

"It's not out of the realms of possibility, but something needs to change in a big way because of the amount of traffic between us and sixth place.

"That's why these games, for me, are bigger than when we play Villa. That will take care of itself, but all these league games are really important.

"Everyone's excited about Villa, I'm not, I'm thinking about Swansea and everyone should be. People walking around talking about Villa tickets - let's beat Swansea, that's it."

The Lilywhites swept aside their Lancashire rivals in the fifth round, scoring more goals in one game than the Clarets had conceded in their previous 15 in all competitions.

"If we perform like we did at the weekend we'll give Swansea a hard time," Heckingbottom added.

"The challenge for all of us is to go and deliver the same type of performance and almost forget who we're up against, focus on ourselves to deliver our best game."

Mads Frokjaer, Jordan Storey and Ben Whiteman remain out while Heckingbottom has not given up hope of Duane Holmes or Jack Whatmough returning to action this season.