Football Season Guide

Preston enjoyed a decent league campaign in the 2013/14 season and managed to make the play-offs, but were ultimately unable to win promotion to the Championship after being stopped by eventual play-off winners Rotherham in the semi-finals. Despite his inability to win the Lillywhites promotion, the club acknowledged the progress made under Simon Grayson, and opted to give the experienced manager another stab at delivering promotion. Grayson was unable to get rid of all of the unwanted players in his squad last season, but completed his clear-out this time around, as eight players, who were all signings made by his predecessor Graham Westley, have been allowed to leave the club. The Lillywhites will have a new starting keeper this season, as Declan Rudd, who spent the previous season with them on loan from Norwich, is now back with his parent club, meaning that the number one shirt is now likely to go to Jamie Jones, who joins from Leyton Orient, although Thorsten Stuckmann will certainly want to get his starting place back. Grayson was particularly pleased to have completed a season-long loan for Paul Gallagher, who impressed while with the club last season. Kyel Reid, who showed very good form for Bradford last season, will also add quality to the wide areas, while the arrival of Calum Woods gives Grayson another valuable option in defence. Andy Little is an unknown at League One level, but should prove to be a decent option to have in attack, given that he has been capped for Northern Ireland and had a decent scoring record for Rangers. Jordan Hugill is another striker who joined over the summer, but will probably be fourth in the pecking order, behind Joe Garner, Kevin Davies and Little.