Ben Whiteman admits Preston lack confidence as interim boss Mike Marsh leaves

Posted Sunday, August 18, 2024 by PA

Preston captain Ben Whiteman admitted his team are lacking in confidence as well as goals after they crashed to a 3-0 defeat against Swansea at the Swansea.Com Stadium.

That made it seven successive Sky Bet Championship defeats for Preston and are still awaiting a goal over the same period.

Whiteman came out to face the media after the game in place of interim manager Mike Marsh, who jumped into the hot seat following the departure of Ryan Lowe after last weekend’s 2-0 home defeat to Sheffield United.

Club chairman Peter Ridsdale issued an update on the status of Marsh within 90 minutes of the game finishing, in which he announced the departure of the caretaker boss.

“On Monday 12 August, it was announced that Mike Marsh, along with Peter Murphy and Ched Evans, would take charge of the first-team fixtures against Sunderland and Swansea City,” wrote Ridsdale.

“Following today’s defeat in south Wales, Mike has thanked the club for the opportunity to take interim charge, but he does not wish to apply for the job on a permanent basis or take the club forward.

“Mike will therefore leave the club with our sincere thanks and best wishes for the future.

“We will now concentrate all our time and energy on appointing a new manager/head coach, and hope to be in a position to make an announcement in the coming days.”

Whiteman called for much-needed “clarity” at the club in his post-match press conference and will be hoping Ridsdale is able to find a new manager sooner rather than later.

“We came out of the traps well in the second half and I thought we were good for 15 minutes or so. We had to score when we were on top and had the momentum like that,” he added.

“We created two very good chances, among the best in a while, and they didn’t go in. Then they ran down the other end and got a deflection.

“When you look at the goals today, there isn’t much in them. They had a deflection and a penalty, but the main thing is we have got to improve.

“We knew they had tricky wingers but I don’t think they caused us too many problems apart from the goals. It was a very frustrating game and we have to improve – it’s as simple as that.”

Having lost 1-0 at Middlesbrough on the opening day of the Championship campaign, Swansea boss Luke Williams was delighted to see his side pick up their first points, especially as they next home assignment is the south Wales derby against Cardiff.

“I’m really pleased because I think we performed in a way that was value for the result. If you win and maybe you didn’t deserve to, you take it, but if you win and you deserved, it is a special thing for coaches,” said Williams.

“I want the fans to turn up expecting to see that and I want them to see it more often than not. We know it is going to be incredibly challenging games.

“There are some fabulous teams in the Championship. We know that we will have tough days but, more often than not, it would be great if we can see energy, aggression, flare, excitement – performances that people want to come back and watch and fall in love with.”