Preston appoint Graham Alexander as manager after poor Championship start

Preston North End have appointed Graham Alexander as manager, bringing the former Deepdale player back from Bradford City as the club tries to recover from a poor start to the Championship season. Preston were 23rd with four points from eight matches when he was appointed, according to the English Football League.

Alexander replaces Paul Heckingbottom, who left after Preston lost six of their first seven league games, BBC Sport reported. The appointment gives Preston a permanent manager ahead of a scheduled home match against Millwall on 10 October, which the BBC identified as Alexander’s first game in charge in this spell.

The job at Deepdale

The EFL said Heckingbottom departed on 13 September, after Preston had taken four points from their opening eight Championship matches. That position makes the club’s early league form the immediate context for Alexander’s arrival. Neither report establishes how quickly the change of manager might affect results.

BBC Sport described Preston as second from bottom with four points from eight games. The EFL placed the club 23rd when it reported Alexander’s appointment on 28 September. Both accounts describe a side near the foot of the division as its new manager takes over.

He will be joined by assistant Chris Lucketti, another former Preston player and teammate, according to the BBC. The move therefore brings two figures with previous ties to the club into the coaching staff as Preston prepares for the Millwall fixture.

A return for a former player

Alexander played for Preston in two spells and also briefly took caretaker charge in 2011–12. The EFL dates his playing spells to 1999–2007 and 2011–12 and says he served as caretaker for five games during the second spell. It describes this appointment as his third spell at Deepdale.

BBC Sport also reported the brief caretaker spell. Its account lists Fleetwood, Scunthorpe, Salford, Motherwell and MK Dons among the clubs Alexander managed before taking charge of Bradford. That experience forms part of the background to his return, although Preston’s present league position is the immediate test of the appointment.

The BBC and EFL give different totals for Alexander’s league appearances as a Preston player: 372 and 370 respectively. Both agree that he played for the club across two spells. The exact total remains unclear from the published accounts, so his playing connection is more certain than either number.

What Bradford are losing

Alexander had managed Bradford since November 2023. BBC Sport reported that he led the club to promotion from League Two in his first full season. Bradford then finished fourth in League One in 2025–26 before losing to Bolton Wanderers in the play-offs.

Bradford were top of League One after seven games this season, with five wins, when Alexander left, according to the BBC. His departure comes while Bradford are leading their division, a different immediate situation from the one he inherits at Preston.

Bradford said the previous Thursday that it had ‘reluctantly’ allowed Alexander to speak to Preston, BBC Sport reported. The wording indicated the club’s position on the approach before his departure was confirmed; it does not establish any further terms of the move.

Bradford chief executive Ryan Sparks said Alexander and Lucketti left the club in a ‘much stronger position’ than the one they inherited. In comments carried by the BBC from Bradford’s website, Sparks thanked them for their work and wished them and their families success.

Next match

Preston’s scheduled home game against Millwall on 10 October is the first match BBC Sport identified for Alexander as the club’s permanent manager. It will be the first opportunity to see his team in a competitive fixture in this spell. The published reports establish the appointment and the league position he inherits, but leave its effect on Preston’s results open.