Preston North End need to breathe new life into the summer if they want supporters fully on board

Whilst May isn’t, of course, the summer, as soon as the football season finishes, it’s summer. I’ll hear nothing else. So we’re in the early part of the summer, retained lists, players’ holidays, early musings of transfer deals.

North End have confirmed their retained list, and not much has yet changed. It remains to be seen whether their real retained list, essentially once those have either accepted or declined contract, will bring about change, but for now, it’s more of the same.

Daniel Johnson, Greg Cunningham, Josh Onomah and Robbie Brady have all been offered new deals, Ben Woodburn has another 12 months to go now thanks to a clause in his contract.

So should all accept, as North End would want them to, the club are back where they ended the last campaign – minus their loan players, two of which were their starring players since their arrivals, Tom Cannon and Alvaro Fernandez.

Their season ended in disappointment, and a continuation from last campaign, with the basis of the same squad going into the summer, would only lead to more disappointment.

It has already been widely stated, and is quite understandable given the home record last season, that North End are going to have more trouble shifting season cards this year compared to last.

A lack of home wins, or even goals, made PR1 are relatively dull place to spend your Saturday’s for much of the campaign. They finished 12th in the league and will have to watch Coventry City and Luton Town – neither of whom could beat Preston this season – battle it out for a place in the top flight. Both sides have also more recently been in League Two than North End the League One play-offs, never mind the Championship.

It’s leading to more apathy from the North End fanbase, which has become somewhat of a buzzword over recent seasons but is a result of their ambition and hopes just being ground down. They crave success, they crave North End’s 15 minutes of game. No one is expecting it to last, no one is expecting the unthinkable, just a little time in the spotlight. Even just a play-off campaign would give renewed hope that could carry for multiple years.

But instead they’re looking at another season with largely the same squad that so tamely fell away at the end of the campaign.

Although they have done so relatively successfully in recent years, Preston must act swiftly and early in the transfer market. Supporters need something to get excited about this summer. They’ve had to watch Sheffield United celebrate promotion and then Sunderland get into the play-offs first hand, the retained list has given them nothing in terms of looking forward. Those from last season could stay, they could go, who knows?

Early signs of ambition would really get the supporters going, at least, as best as they can. Some are still jaded from their experience last summer and how quickly that seemed to fall apart around Christmas time but many are involuntarily drawn back, and always will be. They need to be enthused.

Swift business would help in that regard, so too their bespoke Castore kits. There has been a lot of the same old so far, the update from the chairman whilst is very welcome and shows good communication, didn’t offer too much new sentiment. The playing squad could be very much the same as a starting off point. Come on, North End, give us something to get excited about soon. It’s a long summer.