Preston North End transfer prediction made as Watford hero delivers verdict on Ryan Lowe

Experienced English Football League winger turned pundit, Jobi McAnuff, is impressed by the job Ryan Lowe is doing at Preston North End.

Lowe is the second longest serving manager in the Championship behind Mark Robins. The 45-year-old has been at Deepdale for two-and-a-half-years and looks set to find himself managing in the second tier of English football, for another season. North End’s play-off hopes are all but over after they suffered a 3-0 defeat to Southampton on Tuesday night.

They find themselves eight points behind Norwich City with just three games left - but are on course to finish in the top 10. McAnuff, who played for Crystal Palace, Watford, West Ham United and Reading, thinks that Lowe is meeting expectations given the riches of the teams above them.

“I think he's done a really good job,” admitted McAnuff who was appearing as a pundit for Sky Sports. “You say about the points tally, the aim now really - they finished 12th last year, they'll improve on that and will want to add to that points tally.

“For me that is progression when you look at Preston versus a lot of those clubs in and around them play-off spots - the likes of Norwich in there. You look at their budgets versus Preston's; they're up against real stiff opposition there.”

McAnuff added: “The squad is quite balanced now. I don't think they're going to need wholesale changes in the summer, maybe a few little tweaks here and there - but overall he's done a really good job.”

Since Lowe’s arrival in December 2021 he has led the club to 13th and 12th placed finishes and they will likely better those positions this season. He has been tasked with assembling a squad capable of breaking into the top six - having seen the likes of Coventry City and Luton Town do so recently. Alan Browne finds himself out of contract, in what is the only real remaining saga. Ben Woodburn, Patrick Bauer, Greg Cunningham and Ched Evans are all in their final months too.