Typical Preston North End spoil the festive fun but they have a huge opportunity in Janaury transfer window

I wrote after the defeat to Queens Park Rangers that it was a very Preston North End thing for them to do to beat Blackburn Rovers so convincingly only to taste defeat seven days later with the same starting XI and to do it on home turf. They were at it again on Boxing Day.

I hope everyone had enjoyed the festivities up until that point because it seemed almost inevitable that with a bumper crowd and the joys of Christmas, North End would bring you back down to Earth.

That is not a slight on the current crop of players nor the manager, it is just a regular occurrence for the long sufferers of a PNE persuasion.

There are so many things to unpack when it comes to the latest defeat, but the main issue is of course the performance.

North End, as they did to their credit at the start of the season, found a way to be in the lead at half time. It wasn’t a great game and in truth both teams going in at nil to end the half may have in fact been flattering.

But with set pieces and good deliveries you will get chances and that is why managers down the years have put so much emphasis on them, they can be worth points in their own right – so it proved in the reverse fixture as Greg Cunningham scored from a corner to make it 1-0, a lead North End saw out.

This time it was again the Irishman who put PNE into the lead from a corner but in the end it proved to be for nought.

Aside from their goal in the first half, Ryan Lowe’s side did not look like scoring and whilst Ben Woodburn should have scored when he ran through one on one, they didn’t look much like scoring in the second half either.

It raised a few eyebrows when the team was announced that there were no changes and the shape was the same. Although no formation is in itself defensive – it all depends on the tactics and personnel – North End set out with two defensive midfielders and one striker at home against bottom of the league.

Ali McCann, Alan Browne and Emil Riis were all fit enough for a place on the bench, though their involvements were limited to around a quarter of an hour towards the end with none able to get themselves into the game.

There is a line to be drawn on when a player is injured or when they’re fit to play, how long they’re able to play would seem to determine it. Lowe felt the trio were fit enough only for the quarter of an hour they got and preferred them on the bench compared to younger players. Whether 15 minutes is enough to consider a play fit or not is another thing, but to Lowe they were ready and he was at peace with how long he could get out of them and the risks involved with using them further.

Why teams, and it is not a problem exclusive to PNE, seem to play down to supposed poorer teams is a mystery, but North End are quite good at it.

Against the bottom eight sides in the league, they have just one win. And they have lost four times in their nine games. Against the top eight, they have just two wins. It paints PNE as a very mid table side, which perhaps they are, but Lowe spoke after the game on whether they want to be more than that and it’s nearly time to decide.

Preston were lacking pace, spark, creativity and a bit of added quality. There is no better time to change that than these next few weeks.

Lowe has spoken about his small squad – something which he set out to achieve, so he’ll receive little sympathy here – but also a lack of quality particularly at home.

This could be one of the most unforgiving Championship seasons ever. Five points separating 17th and fourth is absolutely ludicrous, there is no other way to put it. Lose a couple of games and you can free-fall down the table.

But with how close the table is, you’re never out of the picture. It could be the most unforgiving and the most open. Imagine a side ending the season 17th but cursing a couple of games they could have won, that would have put them in the play-off places. It’s insanity but it is the reality of the league.

When there is so little in the division, does it present a greater chance of making something of the season or does it mean more risk if you go for it? Most supporters and football fans in general would say it is an opportunity and should PNE see it as that, with a little extra investment to start the new year, Lowe might just be able to get his side into the top six.

It is a tough ask all the same and a couple of new faces will not simply make it a reality. The likes of Norwich City, Watford, Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion for example have all got deeper pockets and squads than the Lilywhites, but their start to the season has given them a chance.

They will absolutely need to find some sort of semblance of home form, but there is that chance.

Huddersfield were poor but if playing down is a thing, playing up certainly is when it comes to PNE. West Brom are a side going only in one direction and North End away from home are a force, hopefully it’s the kind of game to pick spirits up again.