From Derby County to Leeds United - the major impact Preston North End can have on the Championship run-in

There isn’t much jeopardy around Preston North End’s run in but none of the Lilywhites’ remaining fixtures will have a dead-rubber feel.

That must be a viewed as a positive, with the last two seasons having ended with a real whimper. Last year, while the squad was depleted, PNE picked up four points from their last eight games and failed to score in seven of those. In 2022/23, after three successive wins, only one point was collected from the final 15 on offer - with 14 goals conceded and four scored.

Those finishes changed the feeling completely towards 10th and 12th placed finishes. It’s now Paul Heckingbottom who is tasked with ensuring his side go right until the end, regardless of the minimal impact it will have on their status in the Championship. Heckingbottom wants to be back competing towards the top of the division and a top half finish would represent a platform for him to build from.

“Yeah, 100 per cent and that's the message,” said the North End manager, after last weekend’s defeat to Aston Villa in the FA Cup. “That's always the aim. We want to be there and that's what you're looking at. We need people who think the same way, who act the same way and then ultimately, you get there.”

Skipper echoes that sentiment

“We're not letting the season peter out as it has in the past couple of seasons,” said PNE captain Ben Whiteman, last Sunday. “We're not going through that stage again where it's sort of a drab end to the season. We're right back on it and we want to pick up as many wins as possible. It has a massive knock-on effect as well... the way you finish the season carries on into the summer.

“Not that it’s doom and gloom but there's a little cloud hanging over the club; I think if we finish on a better note, then there's optimism going into the summer. We're professional footballers at the end of the day and our job is to win games. The past two years have been nowhere near good enough for the club. We're definitely going to rectify it this time.”

Starting with Derby County away on Wednesday night, at least seven of PNE’s remaining opponents - on paper - have much more to play for than Preston. The Rams are right in the relegation scrap along with Stoke City and Cardiff City, who provide the two tests directly after.

Automatic promotion is the aim for Leeds United but by no means guaranteed, with Daniel Farke’s side locked on points with Burnley - North End head to Elland Road on April 12. If any game has the potential to feel flat it is probably the following game, at home to QPR. The Rs currently sit 15th, two points below PNE.

Easter Monday in Hull promises to be a huge encounter for the relegation-threatened Tigers. Plymouth Argyle could be down by the time their penultimate game of the season - at Deepdale - comes around, but the Pilgrims will hope to still be alive. And a play-off place may well be on the line for Bristol City, when they host Heckingbottom’s men on the final day of the season at Ashton Gate.

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