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Paul Heckingbottom: PNE must continue their summer work before the transfer window shuts Preston North End manager leads his players into Saturday’s opening match of the season. Paul Heckingbottom believes PNE have carried out some ‘statement’ work on and off the pitch as they get set to kick off the new season. North End get their campaign underway tomorrow, when they host Huddersfield Town in round one of the Carabao Cup. However, final work on the installation of a seven-figure, state-of-the-art pitch at Deepdale means the game will be played at Goodison Park instead. That was one of the close-season headline developments at North End, alongside the club record fee paid to sign former loanee Alfie Devine from Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent basis after he impressed last season. Asked if the club has moved forward over the summer, the manager said: “It’s a process that’s ongoing. “I think you can see the intent from Craig (Hemmings) in particular, improving the pitch. “Straight away, that’s an added investment. We knew we needed that, we were the only team without that level of pitch. “Signing Alfie is a big thing. We spoke about the loans and, to move forward, could we keep a couple and we did. “I think they are two really big statements but now we’ve got to continue that in the places we need to improve in. “We’ve got a long way to go, we’re close on a number of things and it’s important to get them over the line to make sure we’ve got a strong squad.” So far this summer, Heckingbottom has brought in Devine and Lee Nicholls on permanent deals as well as loanee Jusef Erabi. Subscribe now for HALF PRICE and catch every minute of our PNE coverage this season - from pre-season to the final whistle. Click here Seven players were released at the end of last season with Jack Walton, Michael Smith and Ben Whiteman also having found new employers during the summer. Admitting he has plenty of shopping left to do, Heckingbottom still maintains his squad will look different once the window shuts at 11pm on September 1. “We need to replace all the players we lost; simple,” he said when asked how many players he wanted to bring in. “The statement of intent is there with Alfie. We have got the ability to do more. “There will be a big difference between now and the end of the window.”