Coach DNA
Playing style
balanced profile
Style consistency
More consistent than 45% of multi-club coaches
Club record
League results at each club since 2016, next to the same club under other coaches.
Preston
Aug 2024 – Sept 2026 · 108 matches
1.16 points per game in Championship (96 matches).
Preston with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.35 (139 matches, 4 coaches).
Line-up Elo: −48 below the league average under him, −41 under the others.
Most used
- J. Storey7,709' · Elo 1,809
- A. Hughes7,182' · Elo 1,726
- B. Whiteman6,253' · Elo 1,948
- L. Lindsay4,915' · Elo 1,801
- A. McCann4,897' · Elo 1,860
- L. Gibson4,775' · Elo 1,857
- M. Osmajić4,348' · Elo 2,005
- A. Devine3,991' · Elo 1,808
- K. Kesler-Hayden3,971' · Elo 1,915
- D. Iversen3,956' · Elo 1,851
Sheffield Utd
Mar 2021 – Dec 2023 · 106 matches
1.60 points per game in Championship / Premier League (96 matches).
Sheffield Utd with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.38 (268 matches, 2 coaches).
Line-up Elo: +47 above the league average under him, −23 under the others.
Most used
- O. Norwood8,186' · Elo 1,894
- J. Egan8,146' · Elo 2,043
- W. Foderingham7,749' · Elo 1,694
- J. Robinson5,963' · Elo 1,896
- G. Baldock5,421' · Elo 1,827
- S. Berge5,329' · Elo 2,431
- I. Ndiaye5,319' · Elo 2,430
- C. Basham4,496' · Elo 1,730
- A. Ahmedhodžić4,217' · Elo 2,102
- O. McBurnie3,775' · Elo 2,051
Hibernian
Feb 2019 – Oct 2019 · 24 matches
1.29 points per game in Premiership (24 matches).
Hibernian with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.49 (171 matches, 5 coaches).
Line-up Elo: +74 above the league average under him, +56 under the others.
Most used
- P. Hanlon2,160' · Elo 1,443
- S. Mallan2,160' · Elo 1,622
- L. Stevenson1,980' · Elo 1,307
- D. Horgan1,800' · Elo 1,462
- O. Marciano1,620' · Elo 1,827
- F. Kamberi1,530' · Elo 1,544
- D. Gray1,260' · Elo 1,258
- M. Milligan1,170' · Elo 1,501
- M. McNulty1,170' · Elo 1,470
- D. McGregor1,080' · Elo 1,082
Leeds
Feb 2018 – May 2018 · 16 matches
1.00 points per game in Championship (16 matches).
Leeds with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.75 (170 matches, 3 coaches).
Line-up Elo: −41 below the league average under him, +101 under the others.
Most used
- P. Jansson1,272' · Elo 1,704
- Pablo Hernández1,062' · Elo 1,469
- S. Dallas1,052' · Elo 1,975
- B. Peacock-Farrell990' · Elo 1,826
- E. Alioski967' · Elo 1,861
- K. Phillips942' · Elo 1,928
- M. Pennington906' · Elo 1,873
- Samu Sáiz842' · Elo 1,477
- R. Vieira812' · Elo 2,030
- G. Berardi809' · Elo 1,462
Barnsley
Aug 2016 – Feb 2018 · 83 matches
1.12 points per game in Championship (76 matches).
Barnsley with other coaches, ±3 years: 1.11 (89 matches, 5 coaches).
Line-up Elo: −101 below the league average under him, −104 under the others.
Most used
- A. Davies7,380' · Elo 1,798
- T. Bradshaw4,977' · Elo 1,552
- A. MacDonald4,656' · Elo 1,542
- Unknown (20469)4,614' · Elo 1,210
- A. Yiadom4,451' · Elo 1,591
- M. Roberts3,786' · Elo 1,536
- J. Scowen3,683' · Elo 1,802
- M. Watkins3,338' · Elo 1,317
- R. Kent3,227' · Elo 2,000
- J. Williams2,688' · Elo 1,873
Players under Paul Heckingbottom
Total Elo change of his own players in his matches.
Rose most
- I. Ndiaye+805
in 72 matches · Sheffield Utd
- J. McAtee+591
in 53 matches · Sheffield Utd
- C. Hourihane+453
in 48 matches · Sheffield Utd
- A. Davies+407
in 93 matches · Sheffield Utd
- A. MacDonald+403
in 54 matches · Barnsley
Fell most
- M. Smith−128
in 39 matches · Preston
- C. Evans−102
in 11 matches · Preston
- L. Stevenson−99
in 22 matches · Hibernian
- A. McCann−90
in 65 matches · Preston
- G. Gardner−87
in 14 matches · Barnsley
Opponents
Their Elo change in matches against his teams (at least 3 meetings).
Favourite opponents
−90R. Manning2242
in 8 matches · Southampton
−85P. Ng1977
in 5 matches · Cardiff
−82Z. Vyner1946
in 7 matches · Bristol City
−77R. Woods1698
in 6 matches · Hull City
−69B. Cabango2118
in 6 matches · Swansea
Nemeses
+198J. Worrall1961
in 7 matches · Burnley
+132F. Ebosele1829
in 3 matches · Watford
+127L. Thompson1867
in 4 matches · Derby
+125P. Jagielka1515
in 3 matches · Stoke City
+112J. Cooper2116
in 8 matches · Millwall
Coaches
Their Elo change in matches against him (at least 3 meetings).
Favourite coaches
- −46
N. Jones1900
in 6 matches · Charlton
- −45
S. Parker2035
in 4 matches · Burnley
- −35
Carlos Corberán2115
in 4 matches · West Brom
- −34
Russell Martin1976
in 3 matches · Swansea
- −31
N. Pearson1710
in 5 matches · Bristol City
Nemesis coaches
- +107
in 5 matches · Fulham
- +52
Mick McCarthy1561
in 3 matches · Ipswich
- +49
Jaap Stam1588
in 5 matches · Reading
- +45
R. Edwards1938
in 4 matches · Middlesbrough
- +44
Martí Cifuentes1949
in 3 matches · Leicester
Playing style
How Paul Heckingbottom's teams play vs league-season peers (2016+)
Descriptive — how a coach's teams play, not how good they are.
Career average
One shape blending all 3 clubs (2016+).
The baseline — each polygon on the right shows how one club's style deviates from this.
+0.13style consistency across 3 clubs
More consistent than 45% of multi-club coaches.
A high score means the same playing style travels from club to club — well above the random-coach baseline (-0.01), so it's a signature, not the squads.
Preston107 matches
Sheffield Utd104 matches
Barnsley77 matches