The good, the bad and what next for Preston North End with 11 games played

The good

Fresh faces find their feet straight away

It’s always the hope, but transfer windows pose Preston North End with a real challenge and getting it right is not easy. The Lilywhites started and finished the summer strongly though, with Will Keane, Duane Holmes and Mads Frokjaer brought in early doors before Liam Millar and Milutin Osmajic were snapped up on deadline day. Keane and Holmes brought vast experience to the table and wasted no time in making an impression.

Since his loan spell in 2015, Keane has blossomed into a polished centre-forward with added threat in the final third. His early performances were crucial for Preston, with him the only available centre-forward in the squad. The number seven netted the late equaliser on the opening day and North End managed to kick on after that point at Bristol City. His brace at Stoke City earned North End a brilliant three points.

As for Holmes, he has surely exceeded expectations - his impact evident. The American had always been a tricky opposition player to come up against and Holmes has certainly added something new to Ryan Lowe’s squad. He has contributed seven goals in all competitions while showing his creative spark and versatility. Those two have led from the front, but Millar of course netted on debut while Osmajic and Frokjaer are both up and running. Jack Whatmough has played an important role in some of North End’s wins; Calvin Ramsay and Layton Stewart’s time will hopefully come.

Precious early points

It may sound obvious, but PNE’s fast start can only help. To have 20 points on the board already is a major positive and it softened the blow of North End’s last three, disappointing results. Preston managed to end up on the right side of games, with five of their six wins by the one goal. They also showed great calmness and character - coming from behind to beat Swansea and Birmingham City and earn points at Bristol City and Rotherham.

Lowe’s side also went and found a winner against Sunderland, after being pegged back to one apiece in the first half. It’s going to take a major effort for PNE to stay at the top end of the division, as other clubs no doubt improve as the campaign progresses. But, North End’s start has set a solid base for the rest of the season and calmed any nerves which may have been around.

A much better mood

There is a togetherness around the club again and that can go a long way for Preston. It’s been a bit of a bumpy road to this point; North End fans have been served up their fair share of drab stuff post-Covid. Things can quickly change, of course, but Ryan Lowe managed to come through a particularly challenging period at the start of last year. You always go back to that comeback win over Wigan Athletic at home - it felt colossal for the PNE boss at the time. Lowe is no doubt still learning and will make mistakes, but he has shown his ability to engage the fans when things are going well. He is an ambitious individual, extremely passionate about the game and his work.

North End are so much better off with that positive connection instilled and everyone pulling in the same direction. Lowe has an honest group of players at his disposal and there is plenty of talent in there too. They will not get it right every game; sometimes the quality of opposition will be too much. But, all PNE fans ask for is a team that will work its socks off every week, tries to entertain and strive to keep getting better as one. Supporters will take the rough with the smooth if that is the case. It has been a bit more relatable this season from the Lilywhites.

The bad

Last three

West Brom - despite their indifferent form heading into the game - always looked a difficult test for Preston. The Baggies have a top coach at the helm in Carlos Corberan and an abdundance of quality within their squad. Lowe’s men will have gone into the game with confidence high, but they were well and truly battered on the day. The 0-4 drubbing was never an ideal way to head into a gruelling week on the road, at Leicester City and then Ipswich Town. It was a case of North End getting whatever they could from the 180 minutes. You wanted to see Preston compete and give a positive account of themselves against the top two clubs in the league.

PNE of course took nothing away from either match. And while they performed impressively for an hour at Leicester and had moments at Portman Road, taking no points from a possible nine and conceding 11 goals was a tough way to head into the break. On the flip side, perhaps it will keep everyone that little bit more grounded and in check. North End have done a lot right so far and being third is fantastic, but you’ve got to be pretty damn good to stay up there. Preston will recognise they still have a lot of work to do.

Injury blows

It’s the case every season but North End have had a few issues to contend with so far. For starters, Calvin Ramsay - the first signing of the summer - has not played for Preston yet. Lowe has been open in his view that the defender joined too soon on loan from Liverpool, given his knee injury which has reoccured and sidelined him for the last two months. The six-to-eight week period, which Ramsay was said to be out for, has now passed - so it will be interest to see what the update is on him next week.

Ched Evans and Emil Riis have been absent too. North End’s forward options have certainly been thin, with Will Keane the only option at the start of the season - but he was then ruled out for a handful of games, meaning Milutin Osmajic was thrust on to centre stage immediately. Lowe must be desperate to have his strikers all in contention. Ali McCann is now going to be out for a few weeks - while we wait to learn the extent of Andrew Hughes’ calf issue. There was then the sickness bugs which effected Alan Browne and Jordan Storey, while Ben Whiteman and Robbie Brady were unavailable for the first month or so. North End have needed their whole squad, for sure.

What next?

Back to basics

Preston’s defensive game at Leicester was spot on for 60 minutes, so this isn’t a team who has suddenly forgotten how to defend. Freddie Woodman takes great pride in keeping clean sheets and there is a real understanding between Jordan Storey, Liam Lindsay and Andrew Hughes - you can include Greg Cunningham in that too. North End have been scoring more goals than last season, but after the break they will be desperate to get back to being hard to beat. The team should be hurting after shipping 11 goals in three games. West Brom and Ipswich cut PNE open at will; the absence of Storey and Hughes was certainly felt against the Tractor Boys. And the likes of Brad Potts, Ryan Ledson, Lindsay and Holmes had played plenty of minutes, so a short break should only benefit.

Milutin and Mads to step it up

PNE tapped into the European market this summer and - by their standards - put their money where their mouth is to land Frokjaer and Osmajic. The duo can become big assets for Preston and this season will be one of learning for both of them. A degree of patience will be needed with both players, but these were big signings for the Lilywhites and it will be on all parties to make their time at Deepdale a real success. Frokjaer is a humble, gentle soul with quality in his locker.

He needs to be managed and coached correctly so that he can blossom into a consistent, difference maker for Preston. As for Osmajic, confidence should not be an issue. With one goal - a devastating finish against Birmingham - to his name already, the Montenegrin’s task is to get hitting the back of the net regularly. The 24-year-old hasn’t had brilliant service so far, but he’s still sniffed out chances in most matches. If North End can get Frokjaer and Osmajic firing, it’ll be a massive boost.

Can underlying numbers be improved?

As mentioned, North End managed to edge some close encounters early in the season and they have scored 15 goals in total - which is around par when compared with the rest of the Championship. Data is widely available on all aspects of teams now and clubs will delve into it extensively. The attacking numbers against PNE’s performances so far are not the best, so that is testament to Preston’s clinical touch in the final third and key moments. It is satisfting to outperform various metrics, but North End’s boss will want to see some improvement there given the odds of it continuing. For instance, Preston are 19th for open play expected goals, 22nd for shots per game, shots on target per game, touches in the penalty box, shot creating actions and 20th for set piece xG.