Preston hire Burnley’s Mawene as Head of Performance and Fitness

Mawene and Alexander were team-mates at Deepdale and Mawene was later Fitness Coach in the Fleetwood Town side that Alexander led to promotion from League Two in 2014.

Alexander said: “Youl brings a wealth of experience with him, has a fantastic work ethic and also played a significant part in successful teams both as a player with PNE and as a staff member with us when winning promotion. He’s a great addition to our staff.”

Alexander has also brought in Scott Dyer as Head of Performance Analysis. Dyer worked with him at Bradford City, the League One club Alexander left to take the Preston job in September.

“Scott worked closely with us at our previous club and played a significant role in our success there,” said Alexander.

“He’ll work exceptionally hard to support the players and provide everything we need from an analysis perspective. We’re delighted to bring him in.”

Charlie Ager, who held the Head of Performance Analysis title, has left the club as part of the restructure, along with Goalkeeping Coach Mike Pollitt. Preston say a new Goalkeeping Coach will be announced in due course.

A former defender, Mawene made 198 appearances for Preston between 2004 and 2010, having previously played for Derby County. He joined Fleetwood as a player in 2012 and moved on to the staff a year later, becoming Head of Sport Science in 2015.

Mawene then spent just over a year as Sport Science and Strength and Conditioning Coach at Salford City, where Alexander was manager when he arrived, before returning to Fleetwood as Head of Sport Science in 2021. He left for Burnley in 2024, a move first reported by TGG.

Alexander was appointed 15 days after Paul Heckingbottom was sacked and left Bradford top of League One. Preston are bottom of the Championship.