Do Preston North End have the consistency to escape relegation?

The Stoke result was surprising for everyone. Nobody expected The Lilywhites to come away from the game with anything other than a loss, despite the amazing record of being unbeaten at Deepdale on a Tuesday evening since 2001. Alan Irvine’s men performed admirably and thoroughly deserved the 3 points against Tony Pulis’ side. After the match it was unfairly portrayed that Stoke had the upper-hand throughout the game. Preston more than matched the visitors in every part of the field and despite Pulis claiming his side had seven good chances, Preston had plenty of their own. However, it could also be said that Stoke fell victim of something which Preston have been struggling with – poor finishing. Richard Chaplow fortunately had his shooting boots on and should have been leaving the field with the match ball, but missed an early second half sitter which would have give him his hat-trick. The story for Stoke was that they didn’t test PNE goalkeeper, Andy Lonergan enough times.

But the intriguing thing for Preston is that they play superbly well against the top teams such as Watford, West Brom, Portsmouth and Stoke, but fail produce the same performance against teams lower in the league. They play well and get results sometimes, but the Crystal Palace performance was poor. Both teams were guilty of not playing with any flow, giving the ball away too easily in midfield and lacked the cutting edge upfront to create any real good chances. Crystal Palace did arguably look the more likely to score, but dispite this, a 1-0 loss, I feel, is harsh on PNE. Neither side deserved to win or lose a poor game.

Looking at two contrasting performances from North End and the team’s precarious position in the Championship table, do Preston have the consistency to drag themselves away from the relegation zone?

Overall under Alan Irvine the team has been performing well, playing decent football and just lack a finisher upfront. But in a league where anybody can beat anybody, the key is form and consistency. It’s all very well playing excellently against the top teams in the league picking up one or even three points, but the team really needs to produce the same performance against the teams around them, which are the games which are considered six-pointers at this stage in the season. The team needs to get back in form and perform well as the remaining games will all be difficult as teams are either chasing promotion or play-off spots are fighting it out at the bottom along with Preston. They still face a difficult trip to rivals Blackpool on the 15th and welcome Burnley to Deepdale a week later. Promotion chasers Bristol City lie in wait of Irvine and his men on the last day of the season, and the PNE manger will certainly be looking to have his side’s position in the Championship for next season nailed down by that stage. But before then, Preston could be in an even worse position than what they are in now. Sheffield Wednesday are just a single point behind them and have two games in hand. If they find their form, the task of fighting for safety gets a whole lot more difficult.

I am confident that PNE will be safe this season, but it cannot be taken for granted. Preston will have to play with spirit, commitment and quality if they are to get back to winning ways. But every knock back at this stage in the season is going to a massive blow. Every player is going to have to work for each other and fight for every victory as no game is more important than another. I am sure that the team will find its momentum again and pick up the five wins the manager has said his side needs to be safe. It’s going to be a close and exciting end to the Championship season, at least for the neutral, but a few Preston North End fans could be going gray if things don’t go right.