'If we just had...' Tom Barkhuizen reflects on Preston North End's heart-breaking Play-Off near miss

"Imagine if we got a trip to Wembley. Imagine 50,000 Preston fans going to Wembley for a Play-Off final for a team they actually love watching. We were so close."

Yet so far.

Tom Barkhuizen was an integral member of the Preston North End team that secured the club's highest finish in the English football pyramid since 2009.

Every Preston fan still looks back on the 2017-18 campaign with misty eyes.

Alex Neil in charge. A team full of favourites. Maguire. Hugill. Browne. Robinson. Harrop. Pearson. Barkhuizen. Goals, 57 of them. Wins, 19 of them. Tough tackles and electric football.

But, sadly, heart break.

North End finished 7th. A tantalising three points outside of the Play-Offs, thanks to Derby County's superior goal difference.

It didn't turn out to be a platform to build on, either, but a desperately missed golden chance. The next season, Preston slipped to 14th, the one after they were top in November but eventually finished 9th in a campaign derailed by the pandemic.

Neil would leave the year after and the highest finish since has been 10th. Now, there's an increasingly real chance Preston will be leaving the Championship through the trap door rather than the escape hatch.

It leaves the 2017-18 season as the great 'what-if?' Would a little more spending to get the squad over the line had made all the difference? Barkhuizen is torn.

Barkhuizen wishes Preston 'just pushed the boat out a little more'

Preston have never been big spenders. Last summer's £20m splurge is by far and away the most they've ever spent in a single transfer window, with Alfie Devine nearly tripling the club record transfer fee. Harry Clarke, Johnny Kenny and Leo Leroy were all more costly than the previous record, too.

Given transfer inflation across the English game, North End were inevitably going to have to up the ante eventually and the fees of today can hardly be compared to the last decade’s.

Barkhuizen understands that, but wonders if the club in January 2018 could have invested to give them a boost in the Play-Off race.

"I think you have to look at it both ways," the midfielder, who is now on loan at Bamber Bridge until January, told The Post. "Was that kind of money being spent by the teams in the lower half of the Championship when we were there? Spending £15m in a window? I'm not sure.

"But also, you have that part of you that if we had have just pushed the boat out a little bit more...

"Not necessarily to get promoted but to get Preston back into the Play-Offs. I feel it would have justified the team that we had and the fans bought into that squad so much."

The Jordan Hugill turning point

Barkhuizen does acknowledge, though, that had money been spent on players he might not have played as much as he did for a team he believes bonded by being unfancied underdogs rather than big-money signings.

"On the flipside of that," he said. "From a personal point of view, if we had have way more backing I might not have played over 200 games for Preston!

"I think a big part of our squad was that none of us were bought for big fees. We all came in with a point to prove."

However, the crucial turning point came on deadline day in the January transfer window when star striker Jordan Hugill was sold to West Ham United for £10m.

While Hugill was excited to walk out with all the bubbles, Preston's bust.

His goals were not replaced and North End would win just three of the 12 matches following his departure.

Should some of the money raised from his sale been used to bring another striker in? Even if time was limited? Barkhuizen believes the close knit squad wouldn't have had an issue with it.

He said: "The January Jordan left, if we had have gone and replaced a striker we sold for £10million for £5million... You're in and around the Play-Offs, no one is sitting in the dressing room going: 'F****** hell, he's not one of us.'

"You would look at it like we mean business here, which is only a good thing. Naturally, if you get a player who could get you in the Play-Offs, it's good for everyone.

"Looking at it both ways, you can see not why they didn't, but comparing transfer fees now to 10 years ago is probably unfair."

'Come on, just give us a little bit to give us the best chance'

In hindsight, Barkhuizen does wonder if just a bit more financial backing in the transfer market could have made a huge difference to an already talented side.

He said: "There were definitely moments when you're like: 'Come on, just give us a little bit to give us the best chance.'

"I think that's all we ever wanted. We had the best manager to give us the best chance. We had a group of players who were willing to learn that gave us the best chance, it was just sometimes, maybe you were one or two players off. Having the third thing that gave us an even better chance.

"We were never going to have a 25-man squad where you're replacing a £2m player with a £4m player. We needed every one per cent we could get and yeah, unfortunately, maybe at times we didn't get it."

However, for Preston to achieve everything they did with such tight financial constraints makes the achievement a very proud one for Barkhuizen.

"I always say, finishing seventh with Preston is the biggest achievement of my career just because where we were financially," he added.

"Some of the teams we were going toe to toe with and some of the players, are top Premier League clubs and players now."