PNE Fans' Panel's John Smith verdict: Whoever takes charge will have a big task

I had always thought the departures of captain Ben Whiteman and striker Milutin Osmajic were on the cards but did not expect them to be followed through the door by the manager and his assistant shortly after.

Even more so I did not expect my team to lose six out of our eight opening games in this period.

Looking at these fixtures I would have expected us to have picked up a reasonable points haul from these games to have been clear of the dreaded bottom-three positions in the table.

Going into the season I had been buoyed by the record signing of last season’s star loanee Alfie Devine and was optimistic that we could rebuild our team in what I always thought would be a transitional season under manager Paul Heckingbottom, although I did find it surprising that after last season’s disappointing run of results since January he had been given the green light to spend millions on the squad.

At Goodison Park’ when our season kicked off’ I did not share the pre-match doom and gloom of some of our fans I chatted to prior to the Carabao Cup penalty shootout win over Huddersfield, many who forecast an impending relegation to League One this season.

In a media conference the manager had insisted that the team who played in that fixture would be very different to the one who would start during the season as there were to be more incoming signings before the end of the transfer window.

In the opening game of the season at Bolton we were sluggish in the first half and were outplayed by the newly promoted home side.

We did fight back to almost draw but the manner of defeat increased the anxiety of a growing group of supporters who were convinced that Heckingbottom was not up to the task and we were heading for the abyss if things did not change.

At this point I was starting to share their worries but forever the optimist – particularly when it was strongly rumoured that we would be signing Cameron Archer and Alan Browne, effectively as replacements for the departed Osmajic and Whiteman.

When I saw the name of Johnny Kenny on the screen at the Bristol City game I was a little underwhelmed.

In fairness though, Kenny has done quite well, particularly having never previously played a game at Championship level in his career before making his debut in our only win so far this season against Blackburn Rovers.

The win did win us back the workplace bragging rights off our good "friends" from East Lancashire but it was a struggle and by now the alarm bells were ringing in my head.

Our rigid style of play under the manager seemed so predictable and was easily matched up by opposing coaches who seemed to find a way to stop us scoring and break down our defence, who have not managed to keep a clean sheet now for the ridiculous amount of 30 games.

That we are in the position we are at this stage of the season is one I find to be very alarming.

In previous seasons we have been like a 100 metre runner, sprinting fast out of the starting blocks right on the gun. On the flip side of this, by the end of the season we have looked like a dehydrated London marathon runner waiting to be wrapped in silver foil on reaching the finish line at Pall Mall.

In 2022-23 under Ryan Lowe we were sixth at the halfway point before stumbling to a 12th place finish.

The next season Lowe's North End won seven out of their first eight games to top the table at this point. His side, although suffering from another winter slide, were still in with an outside chance of a play-off spot which were blown out of the water with PNE only taking one point from their last five matches.

The following season under Heckingbottom for all but two league games we almost went down following another dramatic new-year collapse after things were looking bright at one stage.

The couple of wins we got did ensure we escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth but not before I had suffered a nervous ending as the games ticked off until No.46 at Bristol.

Last season Heckingbottom's side suffered the now almost expected end-of-season collapse which began when Middlesbrough showed how much they were ahead of us in January when they trounced PNE 4-0 at the Riverside.

The irony of our position at the foot of the table at this moment in time is that it coincides with a pre-season in which we have bought four of the most expensive players in our history.

The problem is that we remain a small fish in a big pond because of the huge amount other clubs are spending on players.

Because of this, as well as our traditional end-of-season collapses, I think that whoever takes charge will have a big task in turning the club’s position around.

The team already looks weary after eight games and has a worrying lack of energy look for this stage of the season particularly in the second half, while also not looking fully alert in the games opening 15 minutes.

Another irony about the summer investment is that if this money had been available last January and other times, things might well be different now in terms of our position.

A recent article by loanee player of the year in 2016-17, Aiden McGeady said that he urged manager Simon Grayson and Peter Ridsdale to buy another striker which would have in his opinion given us a chance to go up.

McGeady and Grayson left in the summer and while Alex Neil got us up there challenging again for a couple of seasons, unfortunately the money from sale of his star players was not all put back in to find replacements of the same calibre.

Since then the constant chopping and changing of personnel has not really built anything concrete in terms of building a solid side, as most of the time it has been shored up with loan players who have been our best ones but have – in the main – moved on after one season.

We have had a long stay at this level but the failure of failing to produce any homegrown players or find players to move on for huge amounts or by player trading is another reason why we find ourselves in this position, starting the season with another mass influx of players.