The Tim Mercer column: Finishing the season with a flourish would be fitting tribute to my father

North End had just conceded a goal that brought the visitors level at 1-1, having led with a rare and headed goal from Liam Lindsay in first-half stoppage time.

We shrugged our collective shoulders and thought: ‘Oh well, at least that puts us safe on 50 points’, as this underwhelming campaign stutters towards the finish line.

But this is Preston North End, and we cannot allow such a comfortable conclusion in the penultimate home game.

No, let’s even throw that away by a sloppy loose pass to the opposition in the dying seconds that resulted in a thunderbolt strike from outside the box for a goal and deserved defeat.

No doubt the management team were furious, as I watched assistant manager Stuart McCall storm straight off down the tunnel the moment the final whistle blew.

His boss, Paul Heckingbottom, went through the protocol of shaking opposition hands before delivering a post-match interview that didn’t pull any punches.

To try to paraphrase: "The team isn’t good enough. The club culture is such that we pat ourselves on the back for punching above our weight, especially as the season comes towards the end and we appear to be safe. It needs a major overhaul and shift in attitude.”

I have to say that this fan agrees with these conclusions, as did those around me judging by the boos at the end.

However, there is a chance to redeem ourselves a little given the short time frame between Good Friday and Easter Monday when we visit Hull.

They sit four points below us and only two above the relegation zone and it is Gentry Day.

Having just lost my father in the last few days, a fellow lifelong supporter, it would be a particularly fitting occasion for me and others in the same position since the start of this campaign, to put any outside chance of relegation to bed.

Heckingbottom knew the financial structure of the club when he came into the job and so I am confident he can get in the type of player he needs to shake up the club and drag it out of the increasing lethargy that is killing the fans’ hope.