Wigan Athletic legend recalls how Preston North End swooped in after Blackburn Rovers deal collapsed
The former striker spent time on loan at PNE in 2011
Former Preston North End striker Nathan Ellington has recalled his loan spell at the Lilywhites - and the blow of suffering relegation to League One.
In January 2011, PNE swooped in for the Watford striker on a temporary basis. He spent the second half of the Championship campaign at Deepdale, scoring two goals in 18 appearances - one of those a last minute winner at home to Coventry City.
North End, though, were unable to secure safety under manager Phil Brown - who had taken over from Darren Ferguson, one week prior to Ellington’s arrival. Preston finished 22nd in the league and Ellington - who had been on trial with Blackburn Rovers earlier that season - felt there was one key problem.
He told Undr the Cosh: "I am at Watford, with one year left and the transfer window finished. Then, I needed to play, so I went to Preston on a trial - to go and play there for the rest of the season. I went there, got in - Phil Brown saw me in this game, I scored and he liked what he saw.
“He said: 'Yeah, I like what you are doing, we will get you in'. And that is when be brought in (Leon) Clarke and the others. I got in there on a loan, but we were rock bottom in the league and had to try and win loads of games to get out of it. In the end, we obviously didn't - but he did look to me and the players he brought in.
“He had a little meeting with us and said: 'You guys are my core players, I am going to be playing you guys'. He gave me the confidence back and we did have some good players, it's just that we didn't gel. It was too soon. We threw loads of players together and we couldn't gel quickly enough, to win enough games. That was really what it was, in the end.
“That (summer) is when my loan and my Watford (contract) finished. I had no club and that's when I went to Ipswich. I thought there could've been (the chance to stay at Preston), but nothing happened. Nothing came of it in the end, from Phil Brown, so I thought: 'OK, I don't know what I am going to do'."
Ellington landed a two-year contract at Ipswich Town that summer - reuniting with boss Paul Jewell for the third time - but he failed to find the net in two seasons at Portman Road. The former Wigan and West Brom star went on to join Scunthorpe, Crewe, Southport and Egerton, before retiring in 2015.