Tim Mercer's PNE Fans' Panel verdict: Where is the next win coming from?
A sixth defeat for North End in the seven opening games of the season left this fan feeling lower than he has for a long time, with it not just being the onset of Autumn that was darkening the days ahead.
To make it worse, newly-promoted Lincoln still had ‘something’ of the League One side about them and should have been there for the taking and a much-needed three points to restore some confidence in an increasingly faltering team.
The fact that we couldn’t speaks volumes about our current predicament more than any report or commentary from the media can and surely calls into question the tenure of manager Paul Heckingbottom.
The record in this calendar year is appalling. Since beating Bristol City away on the 4th of January, PNE have won only five league games since, including that of last week against Blackburn.
By any reckoning it is not good enough and it is difficult to see how the manager can now survive beyond the weekend, let alone up to the final match before the international break next Saturday.
The game itself was flat despite the hosts having most of the play. Some chances were created, and record signing Alfie Devine did try to open up the Imps’ defence in the first half with some decent passes into the box that neither Callum Lang nor Johnny Kenny could quite latch on to.
At no point in that first period did it feel like the Lilywhites were under any real threat apart from a couple of route-one balls that were just about dealt with. This should have allowed North End to be dominant in their forward play and look threatening throughout, but it just didn’t happen.
Never mind, there was always the second half to put the game to bed, and it started brightly enough with a series of corners that at least put the visitors under some pressure.
One of these, taken by Devine, went direct from his boot to crash against the crossbar and with the rebound falling to Jordan Storey who struck well, only to see a Lincoln defender clear it off the line.
More huffing and puffing followed as the game ticked past the 80 -minute point and led to that feeling muttered by myself and some around me that Lincoln were going to “nick one”. Sure enough, a simple long throw was not dealt with and a poor goal conceded from the resultant header.
I watched the manager closely during the post-match handshakes and just had that sense that it was done.
On the way home, I listened to Alan Kelly on the local radio recalling his own father being in the same position all those years ago when briefly manager at the end of 27 years’ loyal service with the club.
Kelly junior recounted his dad’s despondency in not being able to see where the next win would come from and, with some emotion in his proud Prestonian voice, felt like it was history repeating itself.