'For us to change' - Preston North End man responds to post-match boos after Sheffield United
PNE defender was Man of the Match on Friday night
Preston North End defender Jack Whatmough is determined to make sure that boos quickly disappear at Deepdale.
The Lilywhites were beaten 0-2 by Sheffield United on Friday, as Ryan Lowe’s side hosted the Blades on the opening night of the 2024/25 season. Oliver Arblaster and Gustavo Hamer scored the goals for the visitors, as PNE drew blank and conceded in either half.
It’s a new season for North End, but having finished the previous campaign with one win from eight and seven goalless outings, the frustration is evidently still there among the fan base. Whatmough was pleased to get the nod and put in a solid shift himself, but the post-match reaction is one he’s determined to help flip as soon as possible.
“We’ve been booed off tonight, which for us as players is tough to take when you have worked hard,” said Whatmough. “Without the result, you have worked really hard for the football club and it is down to us to change that - and make them sing as we are leaving the pitch, rather than boo.
“But, we will take that on the chin and that is down to us to change it for them. It’s football, isn’t it? That is where their minds will be. For us, it was a fresh start and ready to go again. But, like I say, that’t for us to change for them. And, we will, we will.”
On the defeat, Whatmough said: “We knew, going into the game, that they are a quality team with some really good individual players. We knew it was going to be a test and they were the better team tonight. It’s game one and it’s going to be a rollercoaster season. There will hopefully be a lot more ups than downs, with the style we want to play.”