Phil Brown targets six new faces at Deepdale to keep Preston in the Championship

By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Updated: 20:58 EST, 6 January 2011

Phil Brown is planning to make a six new signings at Preston after being installed as Darren Ferguson’s replacement at Deepdale.

Brown has penned an 18-month deal and been given the green light to sign up half a team in a bid to save North End from relegation.

New faces: Brown

Preston need reinforcements. They are bottom of the table and seven points from safety.

And last week, five of their loan players were recalled with Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson demanding three Reds starlets were returned in the wake of his son’s exit.

The club also sold key striker Jon Parkin to Cardiff on Monday for £100,000 to leave Brown short on quality players.

He said: 'I need to be proactive in the transfer market. Having lost five or six through no fault of my own I have room for improvement in regards to who I want to bring in.'

Brown has been out of work since being put on gardening leave at Hull in March.

And he admits to being surprised it took him so long to get back into the managerial game.

Brown added: 'I had eight or nine months out and it was really frustrating. There was some jobs I turned down and some clubs that turned me down.

'I felt the job we did at Hull was one that would get us straight back into the game, but nothing came along for nine months.'