Ryan Lowe considers parking Preston North End contract discussion after QPR defeat

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe had planned to meet with club staff this week for a pre-summer transfer window meeting.

But, after defeat to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, a frustrated Preston boss admitted he may push the discussion back. Lowe was left ‘fuming’ at his team’s performance against the Rs - who won 1-0 thanks to Lyndon Dyke’s 20th minute strike. The 45-year-old ‘didn’t like’ what he saw from his team in the capital - and any talk of next season seemed far less important as a result.

North End have a handful of players out of contract this summer, including club captain Alan Browne. Then there is loan man Liam Millar, whom PNE want to bring back to Deepdale - while fresh recruits will also be sought. The plan, this week, was for Lowe to sit down with the relevant people at PNE and chat about the key decisions facing Preston this summer.

Post-match on Saturday, though, he said: “With all due respect, I might put it off. We expected to win here and that’s not being disrespectful to Queens Park Rangers. It then looks better and brighter, on 66 points and can plan a little bit. I don’t like planning ahead when we’ve got points and games to win. We’ve got football to play and we’ve got to play the right way. So, I don’t know whether I will change the meetings - because everyone’s future is up for grabs basically.”

Last week, Lowe said: “We’ve got a meeting next Wednesday - the coaches, Peter (Ridsdale) and the recruitment staff. We’ll be identifying what we want and who we’ll be looking to keep and move on. If we can get deals done for people we want to stay; if they don’t then they don’t. We are already on with that and it can come quicker now. The recruitment team has been fantastic already - working their socks off all season, to identify some players we might need.

“We will identify some decent areas and then we’ll go from there, but I am cautious of giving the lads the heads up on what’s happening, too early. We’ve got points to play for and they are contracted with us until July 31st. But, we do have a duty of care also, to let them know, which I am wary of and we’ll probably start planning that next week. I have obviously got a rough idea of what it looks like. But, if the truth be known, in the back of my mind I have to make those decisions and they are not easy.

“We had a brief chat this morning, me and the staff, about what the meeting potentially looks like - so we can have an agenda. I give the staff the option to write some stuff down and whatever we want to raise, we will. But we just want to try and be better every year, whether that is staff, people in-house, getting more people on board to do other things - whatever that may be. We always look to be better and that’s the progression we’ve made. Since I have come to the football club we have progressed in so many areas, on and off the pitch. We want to continue to do that.

“The games take up that much time in your mind, with what you have to do; the least of my worries, in the nicest possible way, is players whose contracts are up. I have a duty of care to them and respect it, of course, but it is not like they are walking out of the door tomorrow and I have to make a decision today. There is a little bit of time, but I’m cautious of time running out and people wanting to make decisions on where they’re going - getting their agent to speak to clubs. I understand that; the meeting will consist of all different things, not just players being offered contracts. It’ll be recruitment, speaking to all my staff to see how they feel and what they can do better.”