Ryan Lowe has Preston North End repair job on his hands he really didn't need

If there was a mountain ahead already then it just got a damn sight bigger for Preston North End's manager to climb. Last Saturday saw the Lilywhites beaten 1-5 at home to Watford and the following Wednesday delivered as overwhelming a negative, online reaction as we have seen for some time. The PNE hashtag was sent into overdrive by a relentless stream of scathing posts from supporters. And now, you really do wonder if and how Ryan Lowe wins them back.

It's been a testing three months on the pitch for Preston who - since drawing away to Rotherham United in September - have lost eight of their last 14 games. In that time they have won on three occasions, conceding 32 goals and scoring 15. North End still sit eighth in the Championship table thanks to their unbeaten start to the campaign, but they are clinging on to that for dear life as the alarm bells ring and ring.

The Hornets hammering was exactly what Lowe and co didn't need after four hard earned points on the road. But, there was still an opportunity to right those wrongs over the festive period with performances and results in the Swansea, Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday triple header. Now, you are left questioning whether wins will even suffice. There is a nastiness brewing. You can feel it, almost ready to overshadow the players out on the field - who are trying to win games.

When North End first lured Lowe to Lancashire his press conferences captured the imagination but over time, they have become a metaphorical media booby trap. It would be so easy to negotiate the duties in dull and dreary fashion, rattling off cliché after cliché and giving as little away as possible. You could play it with a straight bat, but PNE's boss likes to reverse sweep, hook and scoop - even when it seems best to just dig in, block and occasionally leave.

And so, Lowe's response to a fan questioning his team's identity was unsurprisingly bullish: "If you are sitting here telling me there's an ex-pro, who's had all the badges and managed 300/400 league games - who wants to ask about the identity - no problem. But, what I can't have is someone who probably doesn't know an identity and just wants kick rush football, or no risk football. So I am not having a go, whoever has asked. I'm just saying if they want to come with the credentials and bring it to the party then we will look at it."

The reply was the main spark for mass frustration; fans feeling insulted and belittled. That is a tough bridge to unburn. The irony of the current state is that Preston's manager has so clearly tried to win the North End faithful over - through fierce passion and fist pumps. But along the way the novelty likely wore off, while love was lost. Over the past 18 months there has been a tension at Deepdale on many occasion. Lowe arrived with confidence in himself, conviction in his methods and after landing Cameron Archer he must've thought the step up to the second tier would be straightforward.

Exciting, attacking football - defending with four and attacking with six - was the plan for PNE. Lowe has had to come away from that now, which is maybe part of the problem: a manager muddled, being forced to do it a way even he isn't energised by nor practiced in. Words of praise often come without the positive tone and vibe you would expect. But by the manager's own admission, survival is a motivation for the current method: "What I'd say is that the identity is winning games of football and you find a way. I could sit here and play nice, Tiki football, but if you are third or fourth bottom guess what? You probably end up out of a job, and that's not what I want to do."

You cannot blame North End's manager too much for that, in a dog eat dog industry. But what that does do - along with the lax and laid back vibe - is fuel the notion that profile has always been on a similar level to Preston. Last week had the potential to really relieve the pressure, but it's been downhill since that disastrous second half kick off against Watford. With four games in 11 days it has the hallmarks of a make or break stage, in which PNE's boss will need to get it right in front of the microphone as well as on match day. There is plenty of repairing to do and this is not an overnight fix.