Preston North End planning to add to Nigel Adkins' agony at Hull City

PNE will hope to depart Humberside tomorrow with the Tigers still propping up the rest of the division.

If that happens, it means North End will have stretched their unbeaten run to a third match and taken another step forward in their attempts to overcome the poor start to the season.

Hull’s first dozen games have seen them yield a point less than Alex Neil’s men and turned the pressure on their manager Nigel Adkins.

Their last five games have seen four defeats and a draw, a creditable share of the spoils with Middlesbrough the one ray of light in that sequence.

Their last victory was on September 15 against Ipswich, the side currently sandwiched between Hull and PNE.

Adkins is the fourth man to hold office at Hull since Steve Bruce quit in the aftermath of guiding them into the Premier League in 2016.

Mike Phelan took over from Bruce, with Marco Silva then arriving to replace him.

After relegation back to the Championship, former Russia coach Leonid Slutsky was put in place in June 2017.

Slutsky was gone within six months – even when North End won there last September he seemed to be questioning his own position – with Adkins stepping in.

Adkins’ track record is a good one, Scunthorpe and Southampton promoted twice under his watchful eye.

The Saints’ promotions were back to back from League One through to the Premier League.

This season, Adkins’ focus is on a battle at the other end of the table – it was last year too and it was a battle won.

“We were in a situation last year but we managed to turn it around and made sure we stayed in this division,” said Adkins.

“Let’s not throw all that hard work away. You’ve got to keep grafting.

“It will be easy for people to be negative.

“Fortunately I’m a really positive guy. I’ll keep working hard and try to be supportive to everyone around.

“If we work hard for each other, you will always have a platform to build.

“If you stick together and grind through it, you then get the satisfaction of coming through it at the other end.

“We are in a transitional period. Let’s not hide away from the fact that it’s tough.

“Hard work is the only way through it.”

“I have amassed a lot of 
experience over the years 
and the thing I’ve learned is that you need unity about yourselves,

“We want the best for the football club.

“Little cliques can go off in all different directions but you’ve got to stick together.”

Jarrod Bowen, who scored in both of Hull’s defeats to PNE last term, is their joint leading scorer this term with Jackson Irvine on three goals.

Former Preston loaness Todd Kane and Will Keane will be in the Tigers squad.