Preston North End have confirmed the departures of first-team coaches Andy Liddell and Peter Murphy from Deepdale, completing the dismantling of the backroom setup inherited from predecessor Paul Heckingbottom. The exits are significant but not surprising: the pair had only remained in post on a caretaker basis once Graham Alexander was appointed head coach at the end of last month, and the new manager has already made clear he intends to build his own staff around him.

Alexander builds his own team

Alexander moved quickly to bring in his own trusted lieutenant when he took charge, installing former Preston team-mate Chris Lucketti as his assistant. The departures of Liddell and Murphy now complete that transition, leaving Alexander with a coaching unit of his own choosing as he attempts to arrest a deeply alarming run of results. Both coaches were well-regarded figures at Deepdale, and their exits draw a firm line under the Heckingbottom era.

It is worth stating plainly what Alexander has inherited and what he is working with. Preston are bottom of the Championship. They have lost all three matches played under his management so far, adding to the miserable stretch that cost Heckingbottom his job in the first place. Three defeats from three is not a sample size that tells us much about Alexander's methods, but it offers no encouragement either, and the margin for error at the foot of the table is vanishingly thin.

The numbers are stark

With a significant portion of the season still to run, Preston are fighting on two fronts simultaneously: trying to bed in a new manager and new backroom staff while simultaneously accumulating the points required to drag themselves off the bottom. The gap to safety will determine just how desperate the situation becomes. Every week that passes without a positive result makes the mathematics harder. A new backroom team takes time to implement ideas; time is the one thing Preston do not have in abundance.

Alexander will be under no illusions. A coaching reshuffle can lift a dressing room in the short term, and the arrival of fresh voices sometimes provides a temporary spark. But supporters have seen enough false dawns to treat any upturn with caution. Four good results in a row at this level can feel transformative; they can also be followed by four bad ones. The underlying issues that left Preston rooted to the foot of the table will not be resolved by personnel changes in the coaching staff alone.

West Brom visit Deepdale next

The immediate test comes at home on Saturday, with West Bromwich Albion the visitors to Deepdale. It is precisely the kind of fixture in which Preston need to show something, and Alexander will be keen for his reshaped staff to have an immediate impact on the training ground before that game. A home crowd that has been vocal in its frustration in recent weeks will be looking for a performance as much as a result, though ideally both.

The coaching changes represent a necessary step in giving Alexander full ownership of how this squad is prepared and managed. Whether that translates into points on the board is the only question that matters now. For a club sitting at the bottom of the Championship with the season already well under way, the clock is ticking loudly.

Frequently asked

Why did Andy Liddell and Peter Murphy leave Preston North End?
Liddell and Murphy were part of former head coach Paul Heckingbottom's backroom staff. When Graham Alexander was appointed as the new head coach, they initially stayed on, but have now departed as Alexander builds his own coaching team around him, having already brought in Chris Lucketti as his assistant.
Who is Graham Alexander's assistant at Preston?
Graham Alexander brought in Chris Lucketti, a former Preston team-mate, as his assistant when he was appointed head coach at the end of last month.
Where are Preston North End in the Championship table?
Preston are currently bottom of the Championship. They have lost all three league matches played under Graham Alexander since his appointment.