Why Preston North End have been labelled the ‘real deal’ by impressed former Portsmouth and Huddersfield boss

Preston North End are the ‘real deal’ when it comes to competing for Championship glory this season.

That’s the verdict of former Portsmouth and Huddersfield manager Danny Cowley, who believes the Lilywhites tick a lot of boxes this term and must be taken seriously.

The Deepdale side currently sit third in the table - a point behind top two Ipswich and Leicester. A draw at Rotherham on Saturday saw Ryan Lowe’s side relinquish to spot - a stalemate which also ended a run of six consecutive wins.

Preston will be keen to get back to winning ways with a home game against West Brom on Saturday.

And Cowley has every confidence they can maintain their early-season moment as he pinpointed a number of key factors that has taken the club to this lofty position.

Speaking on the BBC’s Football Daily podcast, he said: ‘I think they’re the real deal. I think Ryan Lowe has done an amazing job.

‘If you look at the group of players, you see a lot of players on the way up, in a good time in their career. Probably not too many who have been in the Premier League, so I think you see a lot of hungry players, I think you see a lot of humble players.

‘I think Ryan has just done a brilliant job where ever he’s been. He’s gone from Bury - a club in crisis yet he managed to get them promoted in the most difficult of circumstances. He went to Plymouth and added real value there. And then obviously now at Preston.

‘He’s recruited really intelligently, look at the work they’ve done in terms of bringing in players from the lower leagues,

‘And, you know, they haven’t had easy games. They’ve had some really good results along the way and it’s going to be a really tight season for Preston North End fans, that’s for sure.’