A new chairman has been appointed at Deepdale, the club have announced.

Craig Hemmings is now the official Preston North End chairman after the club "strengthened their board of directors".

Craig Hemmings is the son of the Preston owner Trevor Hemmings.

The club have been chairman-less since for almost seven years, after Peter Ridsdale - appointed in 2011 - left the role 2012.

Ridsdale has been an 'advisor' to Trevor Hemmings since he left the post.

According to the club website, Hemmings has been heavily involved with the club's senior management in recent years as he would attend meetings on behalf of his father. He now joins the board as chairman.

The club announced this on the first day back to pre-season.

Speaking to the club's website, he said: "I am delighted to take up the position of Chairman at this proud and historic club.

"My family’s connections with Preston North End have been in place for almost five decades and my own involvement dates back to the early 1970s when I first watched PNE play.

"It is a pleasure and a privilege to continue that involvement.

"I have been able to get an understanding of the workings of the club in recent seasons and we have a very hard-working and dedicated group of staff.

"We have a young and exciting group of players, led by Alex Neil, with the close involvement of Peter Ridsdale on all footballing matters. I look forward to my continued involvement in PNE in this new position.”

The Verdict

It is really hard to tell how much impact this will have at Preston North End, but the Preston fans seem to have a good connection with the Hemmings family so this looks like a positive move.

Trevor Hemmings is a very well respected figure at Deepdale, so his son taking over as chairman should bring the fans some sense of security.

Perhaps with Trevor Hemmings at 83 this was a move to take some responsibility off his shoulders and onto those of his son.