Preston appoint Welsh as U21s lead as they bid for Category 2 Academy status

Welsh, who made more than 150 appearances for North End as a midfielder from 2012 to 2018, has been with the club’s coaching staff since October 2021, when he joined them as Youth Development Phase Lead for the Under-12 to Under-16 age groups. He was promoted to Professional Development Phase Coach in the summer of 2022.

The club have now submitted a formal application for Category 2 Academy status and manager Paul Heckingbottom told the Lancashire Post: “We need to produce better players and more players.”

Chief Executive Peter Ridsdale told the same paper that they had given an undertaking that within the next two seasons, the club “will have an opportunity to have access to an indoor facility”.

He added: “It might have to be a two-stage approach. We might rent one from somewhere to allow us time to build our own, but we are committed to building our own.”

Preston have also appointed Ryan Taylor as Lead Development Phase Coach for the Under-19s. Taylor, who is a UEFA A Licence Coach, will be assisted by Ryan McNally, who has been a Coach in the Academy since 2019.

Taylor made more than 300 senior appearances as a defender for Tranmere Rovers, Wigan Athletic, Newcastle United, Hull City, Port Vale and Fleetwood Town, while he also won five England Under-21 caps.

North End fall in Academy Rankings

The restructuring comes after Andy Fensome left the club to take up an opportunity in the USA. The former Preston defender made more than 100 appearances for the club and worked in their Academy for more than 10 years, helping to develop hundreds of players.

Preston were 46th in our recently published Academy Productivity Rankings for last season – a drop of 10 places from 2023/24 but just above their 2021/22 placing of 47th.

The club have been pushing to become a Category 2 Academy for a while, as not having an Under-21 side has resulted them in losing  talented young players.

One example was winger Tyrhys Dolan, who was with Preston from the ages of 15 to 18 but was not offered a professional contract so joined local rivals Blackburn instead. Being a Category 3 Academy means North End do not offer provision beyond the Under-18s. 

Meanwhile, the club have also appointed Ollie Ras as Lead Foundation Phase Coach for the Under-8 to Under-11 age groups.

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