Preston North End's derby against Blackpool is now their biggest game of the season after Ryan Lowe's comments

It is often said that derby games are the biggest and most important of the season but in the grand scheme of things, they rarely are.

Teams quite often will look instead to a game where they were just a few points away from a play-off place, automatics or the title – also had they just won that game then, they might have stayed up.

But in North End’s case, they are safe. They also are not likely to be troubling those in and around the top six when push comes to shove.

So what is left? Well, a good old fashioned derby with two historic clubs that could well be the last for some time – especially if the last hiatus was anything to go by.

PNE were beaten in the previous fixture, sorry for reminding you, 4-2 at Bloomfield Road. That means that many Preston fans who may know a Seasider have no doubt had to hear about it for the last five months, even those that don’t will have likely seen it on social media.

Even in the wake of a 6-1 or 4-1 hammering in recent weeks, they’ve still got one over on North End.

It was the same last season, a 2-0 win in the first game on the Fylde coast meant that it was all to play for at Deepdale. Had Preston been victorious in the first game, a draw at Deepdale would do nicely, an unbeaten season against their rivals. But that’s not the case, and it cannot be the case for Blackpool.

Even if Blackpool do end up being relegated, Mick McCarthy’s side are four points off safety and 23rd of 24, the Seasiders’ support will surely remind PNE fans that even though they went down, North End still couldn’t beat them.

And with the play-offs and relegation both out of the question for North End, this is the big one. There is no grand scheme of things for Ryan Lowe’s side, that sort of thing ended when he counted his side out of the top six race after being beaten 4-0 by Middlesbrough on Gentry Day, instead they can look at games before that when they were still in the hunt.

This is the big one and things must be put right from the heavy defeat earlier on in the season. Couple that too with Blackpool’s poor league position and regardless of the opposition, Lowe’s men would be under pressure to get a result.

The supporters are playing their part, they will have the stadium packed, will create noise and will have plenty of flags and balloons to try and create an atmopshere that inspires the performance they’re looking for from their team.

As Lowe himself said, if you cannot get up for a derby game then what can you get up for? They must restore their own pride, and in their defence, they did do so last season.

An early kick off too, with all eyes on Lancashire, with the TV cameras down for the occasion too, it has the makings of a classic – if all goes to plan.