Tim Mercer's PNE Fans' Panel verdict: A gut-wrenching experience

Indeed, there was no such thing as an M65 for many of my early seasons which makes the sense of failure even deeper given the timespan.

Yes, we all know Burnley are running away with the title for a reason, but the gulf in class was cruelly exposed here and shows just how far away North End are from ever competing at the top end of this division.

What makes it worse is how, over many of those seasons, we ‘followed’ each other in the relegations down to the bottom flight and subsequent slow rise back to the respectability of the Championship. Being founder members from Lancashire of the world’s first association football league, with a similar sized fan-base and with both having been cotton mill towns, it seemed to be the natural order that we would both go through the same painful process of evolution towards the modern game and under the same trial and tribulations.

And so it was up to the point where, one ‘lucky’ season, they unexpectedly sneaked into the play-offs and even more unexpectedly got into the Premier League. Unlike most clubs, they have since carefully managed the huge shot of cash that comes with it, including any subsequent relegations, and appear to have managed last season’s demise the best of all. It is this, the close geographical proximity and shared history that makes it all the more gut-wrenching for Preston fans, with myself being no exception.

As for the match, PNE were played off the park in every position, but none more so than down the flanks. Wing-backs Robbie Brady and Alan Browne simply couldn’t cope with them. Add into the mix a couple of defensive errors by the central defenders and it is probably more surprising that the scoreline shows only three conceded. Getting something from Wednesday night’s fixture is now a must to lift the gloom surrounding Deepdale and prevent a sixth straight home defeat on the bounce. A new club record we really don’t want.