PRESTON NORTH END

LAST SEASON

CHAMPIONSHIP 13th FA CUP Third Round LEAGUE CUP Fourth Round TOP SCORER Emil Riis Jakobsen ( 20)

FAN FILE

Last season was a real mixed bag. It was pretty drab under Frankie Mcavoy, but Ryan Lowe reinvigorated the club and fanbase in a short space of time.

The big talking point is whether Lowe gets what he needs: quality signings to replace loanees Daniel Iversen, Sepp van den Berg and Cameron Archer.

Our key player will be Ben Whiteman. He makes Lowe’s midfield tick and has nailed down a starting position in front of the back three.

I won’t be happy unless Preston live up to their transfer promises. The club have talked a big game about going for Championship experience, though we’ve heard it all before. The thing my club really gets right is its Community and Education Trust – exceptional, and a credit to the club. The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is generally positive. Lowe [ below] has united a fractured fanbase. Selling over 11,000 season cards by the first week of June was huge for North End.

Our most underrated player is Andrew Hughes. Rarely receiving praise outside of Preston, he has become a very good left- sided centre- back who should be in contention for Wales. The opposition player who grinds my gears is Lucas Joao, who seems to have a blinder against us every time we play Reading.

The opposition player I’d love here is

Luton’s Elijah Adebayo. It would be great to watch him partner Emil Riis.

Fans think our owner is a saviour right now, given that he didn’t sell to Chris Kirchner. Craig Hemmings is leading the club after the passing of his father, Trevor, but a sale may not be all that far away.

Look out for midfielder Mikey O’neill, a former futsal player who made his breakthrough at the end of last season. The player I’d happily drive to

another club is either Sean Maguire or Ched Evans. Neither has scored since November and we need better.

The pantomime villain will be Paul Heckingbottom, if the Sheffield United boss carries on going after players as he did with Nottingham Forest’s Djed Spence for no reason.

We’ll finish around 10th if we get the kind of players Lowe wants; 16th if not.

FFT VERDICT 10TH

Had the 2021- 22 season started when Lowe grabbed the reins in December, PNE would have ended up six points shy of the play- offs, not 11. A top- six tilt is likely for the Lilywhites, more adventurous under the Scouser, if recruitment at Deepdale is as sharp as expected.