Preston North End's Deepdale form will be key to a play-off chase next season says former striker

Former Preston North End striker Neil Mellor says more ruthless home form will help the Lilywhites bridge the gap to the Championship play-offs.
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PNE drew 10 league games at Deepdale in the 2021/22 campaign, the highest number of home draws in the division.

They only lost four times in front of the faithful so were clearly difficult to beat on their own patch.

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But too many times they didn’t quite have the cutting edge to turn one point into three, something Mellor thinks North End manager Ryan Lowe will be working hard to rectify in the build-up to next season.

Preston North End's Deepdale clash with Millwall in April ended in a 1-1 drawPreston North End's Deepdale clash with Millwall in April ended in a 1-1 draw
Preston North End's Deepdale clash with Millwall in April ended in a 1-1 draw

Six of those 10 home draws came on Lowe’s watch in the second half of the season.

North End finished 13th for the second year running, with Lowe speaking confidently at the end of the season that he felt the gap to the top six could be bridged.

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In an interview with Bookies Bonuses website, Mellor – scorer of 43 goals for PNE between 2002 and 20211 – reflected on their season and the potential for next season.

Former Preston North End striker Neil MellorFormer Preston North End striker Neil Mellor
Former Preston North End striker Neil Mellor
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He was a regular visitor at Deepdale last season as a pundit and reporter for Sky Sports.

Mellor said: “There are a lot of teams that have bigger budgets or have experienced the Premier League. For Preston, I think the aim is always mid-table and can we get towards those playoffs and get an outside chance.

"Preston have been in the Championship for seven seasons in a row now. They’ve had four out of seven top half finishes but are yet to be in the play-offs.

"It’s achievable when you look at Huddersfield and Luton, but it is a very, very difficult challenge for Preston.

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"Ultimately, mid-table is good, and the play-offs would be unbelievable because of how competitive the Championship is and I can’t wait to watch the Championship again next season because it’s so hard to call.

"What I would say is Preston need to improve on their home form. There were too many draws at home last season and I think that ultimately proved costly.

"Eleven points off the playoffs is a big gap but I think too many draws at home so if they can improve in that area, I think they can try and close that gap."