The former Plymouth Argyle and Port Vale man is on loan at PNE for the season
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Alfie Devine is becoming more robust in the eyes of Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom.
The Lilywhites secured the loan signing of the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder in the summer, after his loan spell at Belgian club Westerlo caught Heckingbottom’s eye. Devine has featured regularly in the PNE starting lineup, scoring three goals and assisting two across all competitions.
He has been a key cog in a Preston side that, after 18 games, sits fifth in the table. In North End’s most recent victory - at Sheffield Wednesday - Devine dropped into a deeper role during the second half as PNE came from behind to win. That flexibility is something Preston’s boss highlighted upon the arrival of Devine.
“Yeah, good,” said Heckingbottom. “Listen, I like Alfie. I like him a lot. I like him as a lad, certainly as a footballer. I still want to challenge him to be better. He's got fitter. Little things I want to change about everything he does... I think he's looked stronger the last three games.
“More and more, little things we do after games: how he recovers, how he prepares. This is a big jump. Like I’ve said, I saw lots of things in his last loan last season which I liked and thought, ‘Yeah, it would be great if we could get Alfie’.
“But this league's totally different to where he was playing last year. He felt that and he realises that. But I know the last three games there, 90 minutes, 90 minutes, 90 minutes, he’s looking stronger as the game's gone on. He's adapting and he's doing the things that's required to give yourself that chance to be able to perform.”