‘A decent squad need a more experienced manager’ says Preston North End Fans’ Panel’s John Smith

In the opening exchanges we matched the home side but were severely hampered by the loss of the influential defender Pat Bauer after 20 minutes.

After conceding a soft penalty on the half-hour mark the next goal was always going to be crucial to the game’s outcome and, unfortunately for us, it was scored by the home side just before the break.

In the second half we had the majority of possession but could not offer anything in the way of chances and the Forest penalty area remained largely uncharted territory for us in terms of our attacking forays.

It was all too easy for the home side, who then added a third with their first attack of the half to seal victory.

In my opinion the travelling faithful who backed the team to the hilt did not get the 
performance the parting of their hard-earned cash deserved.

At the end of the game there were calls from a section of the crowd for the manager to go and, in all honesty, who could blame them for being frustrated after another tactically inept performance?

Personally speaking, I think we have some decent players in our squad but lack the direction and motivation a more experienced manager could provide. As I said when we decided to part company with Alex Neil, his sacking might produce some short-term relief but the long-term problems at the club will still be the same.

In my opinion our club’s problems lie higher up than just the manager and until the powers that be decide to dispense with the services of an owner advisor, in regard to his control over transfer dealings, and revert back to a more traditional system of running a club, the current protocol will always stay the same.

Apart from Ali McCann, who looks a really inspired signing, the rest are all drawing their wages from the sick bay which, for me, is simply not good enough.

As a fan you deserve to have some hope and although on Saturday it was a bad day at the office, this season has not seen many good ones although unlike one of our local rivals we have yet to suffer the humiliation a 7-0 home drubbing.