Everton And Tottenham Out-on-loan Stars Warned Of Non-negotiables By Boss | OneFootball

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Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom has warned Everton‘s Harrison Armstrong and Tottenham Hotspur‘s Alfie Devine that they have perform like they did against Derby County to stay in the team.

The Deepdale outfit were keen in the transfer market to bring in players who would be able to improve the overall quality of the team and strengthen certain areas.

Early in August, Preston managed to secure the signature of Spurs loanee Devine and on deadline day the finalised Armstrong’s loan deal with Everton beating several Championship sides, including West Brom.

Armstrong made his second appearance for Preston on Saturday against Derby County where Spurs starlet Devine scored the one and only goal of the game to help Heckingbottom’s side snatch three points.

The Preston boss admitted that they were in conversations with the Devine and Armstrong’s camp for a long time and sealed the deal when they felt the time was right.

Heckingbottom was pleased with Armstrong and Devine’s willingness to track back Derby’s players while working hard for the clean sheet, but warned that if they are not willing to constantly do what they did on Saturday they will not get into the team.

The Preston boss admitted that players like Armstrong and Devine are fantastic footballers when they work well with the team and get going.

While talking about the players they added in the summer to add more individual quality, Heckingbottom told Preston North End’s official media: “Then with the late Premier League boys if you like, Lewis, Alfie and Harrison [Armstrong], we had been in conversations with them for a long, long time but the timing has always got to be right.

“We think that they bring something a little bit different to what we had in the squad but if they’re not willing to work hard, if they’re not willing to do what they did today to keep clean sheets, track runners and make it difficult for the opposition as well then they won’t play because you can’t carry anyone.

“But when you do get them working and they know their role in the team and they’ve got those moments in them, then it’s fantastic.”