Bother for Westley is no surprise

Graham Westley was always going to find things difficult at Preston says Oldham manager Paul Dickov.

North End’s 1-0 victory over Huddersfield last week brought about some relief from a draining run of results, set against a backdrop of public player dissatisfaction at Deepdale.

Effective in hauling Stevenage from the non-league ranks up to npower League One status, Westley’s hard-taskmaster methods appear to have proven unpopular with some of Preston’s old guard.

Under his command, Preston have won three times in 18 games. But the club has 14 players whose deals run out in the summer.

Athletic boss Dickov, whose team meets Westley’s tomorrow, believes once the 44 year old manages to slim and mould the squad in his image, he will enjoy better times.

“Graham is someone I have a lot of time for,” Dickov said. “If you look at his record at Stevenage, it is fantastic.

Having pored over the match DVD of the Lilywhites’ recent win, Dickov expects Preston to arrive at Boundary Park buoyed by their showing against a club chasing promotion.

Athletic’s manager believes his team can still make it to the upper end of League One with a set of positive results, starting tomorrow


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