How Preston North End favourite has responded to Cardiff City boss public criticism ahead of Deepdale return

Preston North End fans hold Callum Robinson in high regard, but he will be in the away dressing room this weekend.

The 28-year-old had three separate spells in Lancashire, with two loans before joining permanently in 2016. In Robinson's nine-year career, North End is the side he's played for the most with 41 goals and 21 assists in the 160 games he played for the Lilywhites.

He was sold to Sheffield United in the summer of 2019 for a reported £8m, but things didn't quite go to plan and he later joined West Brom. These days, Robinson plays his club football for Cardiff City - who are North End's opponents on Saturday afternoon.

Robinson has been a Bluebird since 2022, after joining for a reported £1.75million. Back then, there were a few moans about North End not acting on his availability for transfer. The ex-PNE man has been publicly criticised by Cardiff boss Erol Bulut this campaign - but he responded by doing what he does best: scoring goals.

In mid-October, the Turkish coach challenged Robinson to improve on his work rate if he wanted to get into the starting XI. Robinson had missed a few months of the campaign with an injury, and up to that point he hadn't earned a league start.

Bulut said: "I will repeat myself, it’s not only about scoring and playing offensive football. Both Callum and Rubin are included in this. It’s not enough or what I am expecting from them to be in the starting XI. I cannot play with 10 players. I need eleven.

"We are not a team who has individual high-class players to change a game, we need all eleven to be successful. If one isn’t included in the game against the ball, it means other players have to run and fight much more. It doesn’t make sense, everyone has to work."

Following on from Bulut's comments, Robinson responded by getting his first start and scoring in the 4-0 win against Huddersfield Town. He has started every game since, and in their last match he got a goal and an assist in their 3-2 defeat to Norwich City.

His recent form means that it is likely that Robinson will start as an attacking midfielder in Cardiff's 4-2-3-1 formation at the weekend, and that will mean the likes of Alan Browne and Ben Whiteman will be tasked with limiting his creative output.