Simon Grayson interview: Preston, Kaiser Chiefs and charity bike rides

Preston manager Simon Grayson's charity work has already seen him recruit the Kaiser Chiefs. Now he's riding to Amsterdam. Adam Bate caught up with him to discuss that and lots more as Grayson opens up about the challenges facing Preston and British managers.

After a tough season in the Championship hot-house, the league's managers could be excused for taking a well-earned break this summer in order to recharge the batteries. But for Simon Grayson the really hard work begins now. Fresh from guiding Preston to another top-half finish, the 47-year-old is set for a busy June in aid of a charity close to his heart.

Two-and-a-half years ago, Grayson lost close friend Steve Garbett to prostate cancer. Next week he embarks on his second bike ride to Amsterdam in his friend's memory with the aim of raising yet more money and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK. Upon his return he will join Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling on a marathon leg of his March for Men walk.

"I've not done 26 miles of walking before," Grayson tells Sky Sports. "My legs should just about be recovering by then. I only get back from the bike ride at the weekend and three days later we're doing the walk. It's a long walk down! But I'm looking forward to it and getting used to being on the bike. I did it two years ago and got through it then."

He adds: "It was at Steve's wake that we decided we'd do something in his memory. Since then I've done a lot for Prostate and the last three years we've had charity games at Deepdale where I auction off a team for supporters to play against us and we get a host of celebrities to play - lads from Coronation Street, Kasabian, Kaiser Chiefs and ex-players."

In fact, the Kaiser Chiefs were the surprise guests at Grayson's gala ball at the Queen's Hotel in Leeds in March. "I arranged it between me and my partner," recalls Grayson. "There were only a few people who knew about it beforehand so when I introduced them it went down a storm. It helped raise £45,000 on the night and that goes a long way."

Did he not fancy getting up and doing a number himself? "I stayed very much in the background," he insists. "As much as I would love to do that sort of thing my qualities are not in singing or playing instruments." Grayson does have other qualities, however. He has certainly succeeded in getting a tune out of Preston North End over the past four years.

The situation was bleak when he arrived in February 2013. Predecessor Graham Westley had left the club five points above the relegation zone in League One and facing their lowest league finish this century. Morale was low. "In the early stages there was a lot of negativity towards the previous manager," admits Grayson. "There wasn't a connection there.

"There was this divide between the pitch and the stands. So the first thing was to get the supporters back onside by playing good football and winning football. We needed to get the club as one again. A united football club. We've done that and people are enjoying watching us play. So it's been a vibrant place to be this past couple of years.

"I suppose it was a bit of gamble given where they were in the league. But I felt we could get them out of trouble. We then got to the play-offs the following year and promotion the year after. It's a club with fantastic history and probably couldn't have got much lower. We had the chance to take a good-sized club a bit further and we've managed to do that so far."

Indeed, when Bristol City were thrashed 5-0 at Deepdale in early April, Preston were five points off the play-off places with six games to go. But an unlikely Premier League push did not come to fruition. "We're a bit disappointed how we finished," says Grayson. "We ran out of steam a little bit, picked up a few injuries and suspensions which didn't help us.

"But to finish eleventh in the table with the level of competition in that division was still a good season. If you'd said to us that we'd finish above Aston Villa at the start of the season we'd certainly have taken that. So it's been a good couple of years in the Championship. We've just got to keep working hard and improving and try to get better each year."

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Of course, that's not easy in the Championship these days. Preston must beat the odds against teams with bigger budgets if they are to progress. "I think last year was really tough with Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa coming down," adds Grayson. "They are three really big football clubs coupled with the clubs that had underachieved the previous season.

"This year we've got Sunderland and Middlesbrough coming down. Throw in Villa, who under-achieved, Derby, who spend a lot of money, and the teams who missed out in the play-offs and it's getting stronger every year because that money from the Premier League drips down. So it's difficult for a club the size of ours.

"Obviously you see a lot more money in the Championship now from the days when I took Blackpool there. Money can help you along the way but it doesn't guarantee you success. You can see that from what my old club Huddersfield have done as well as ourselves and Barnsley when there are teams below us with three times our budget."

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Grayson puts Preston's relative success down to "a bunch of lads who are committed and work hard for each other" but it's tempting to wonder what he could do with greater resources at his disposal. Certainly, the former Leicester City right-back has enjoyed good times in all four of his appointments to date in a 12-year managerial career.

He has won promotion at each of those clubs having previously taken Blackpool, Leeds and Huddersfield into the Championship too. But he knows the game and realises that if he is to ever get an opportunity in the Premier League he will need to take a club there himself. "We all want to manage at the highest level we are capable of," acknowledges Grayson.

There are a lot of talented British coaches. It's just a shame that the only way you get to coach in the Premier League is by taking a team there.

"There are a lot of talented British coaches. It's just a shame that the only way you get to coach in the Premier League is by taking a team there. That's proven by Sean [Dyche] at Burnley and Eddie [Howe] at Bournemouth. I can't remember the last time that a team from the Premier League poached a manager from the Championship to go and work for them."

For now, the division's second-longest serving manager is content. "In this day and age it's difficult to keep your job longer than one or two years," he says. "What we have is an owner who is consistent, patient and loyal. So even when we get a few bad results, no panic sets in. We ride that storm." First though, there's a very different ride to negotiate.

Simon Grayson supports Prostate Cancer UK and will be cycling to Amsterdam in honour of his friend Steve Garbett, who died of the disease in 2014. You can sponsor Team Garby at https://www.justgiving.com/companyteams/stevegarbo.

Hot on the heels of his bike ride, Grayson and Team Garby will join Jeff Stelling in his epic March for Men, 15 walking marathons in 15 days from Exeter City FC to Newcastle United FC from 2-16 June.

The team will be walking on Day 13, from Harrogate to Bedale. To find out about Jeff's March and the charity's new March for Men walking programme, which includes events in London, Leeds and Glasgow visit marchformen.org.