Preston North End Faces Crossroads After Poor Start
Preston North End are only a few weeks into the season, but this already feels like a crossroads.
That might sound dramatic in early September, yet the mood around Deepdale has been sour for months and nothing in the opening stretch has soothed it. Five games, no win inside 90 minutes, and bottom of the Championship table – even below a side that started on minus points. The numbers tell one story. The atmosphere tells an even darker one.
The only flicker of light so far? A late equaliser and penalty shootout victory over Huddersfield Town in the cup, and even that came at a neutral venue in Goodison Park against lower-league opposition. For the travelling Lilywhites, it was a brief respite from watching their club labour on the pitch and lurch from issue to issue off it.
Transfer window tension at Deepdale
On Tuesday night, as Bristol City left Lancashire with a 3-1 win, much of the attention wasn’t on the grass at all. It was fixed on an executive box high in the main stand.
Inside sat PNE CEO Peter Ridsdale and senior club figures, phones out, deals being pushed towards the line as the transfer window ticked down. On the pitch, Preston actually played well in spells and could argue they were the better side. On the scoreboard, the damage was done. Another defeat. More boos. More questions.
Then came the announcements.
Johnny Kenny signed for a reported £3m. Liam Gibbs arrived on a season-long loan. Two fresh faces, two moves that on paper add options and energy. Yet when the deals flashed up on the big screen mid-match, the reaction from the home support was muted at best. Underwhelmed, almost resigned. Not a roar, not a reset. Just a shrug from a fanbase that wanted a statement and felt they got stopgaps.
The return of former captain Alan Browne, heavily linked and widely hoped for, never materialised. He stayed put with Premier League side Sunderland. That one, in truth, was never entirely in Preston’s hands, but it still landed like another blow.
A derby that suddenly carries weight
Now the calendar throws up a fixture that rarely needs extra spice: Blackburn Rovers at the weekend. A Lancashire derby, always loud, always raw. This time, it carries something else. Jeopardy.
Each setback has chipped away at patience in the stands, and Paul Heckingbottom’s record so far at Deepdale does little to shield him. He walks into this derby not just trying to beat a rival, but trying to change a narrative. His team’s start has offered little ammunition to those inclined to back him. The grumbles have grown into something heavier.
Blackburn arrive depleted, stretched by injuries and absences, and that only raises the stakes for Preston. Lose to a weakened Rovers side and the noise around Heckingbottom will swell. Draw and the malaise lingers. Win, and at least there’s a foothold, a moment to breathe, a chance to say the season has finally started.
Preston fans, like any others, are not easily won back once they’ve turned. The danger for any manager at Deepdale has never been outright fury; it’s apathy. When the anger fades and the shrugs take over, that’s usually the sound of a tenure winding down.
Right now, with each defeat, that apathy is creeping closer. Saturday will show whether this team can shove it back – or whether it tightens its grip on the club’s season.
