, How in form Preston North End have turned their season around

How in form Preston North End have turned their season around

Preston North End thrashed Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers 4-1 at Deepdale on Saturday, a result which secured their first back to back Championship victories this season and extend The Lilywhites unbeaten run to eight matches.

Preston’s recent form has seen them climb to 16th in the table and ease the pressure on manager Alex Neil, after a poor start to the campaign threatened to derail North End’s progress from last season, which saw them finish in 7th place just two points off the Play-offs.

Neil’s side lost 3-2 to at home to West Bromwich Albion at the end of September, that defeat saw Preston drop to the bottom of the league having taken just 5 points from ten games. Preston’s defense was a major issue in those opening ten games, with The Lilywhites conceding 21 goals in those 10 games and keeping just a solitary clean sheet in that run.

Preston have dramatically improved in the eight match unbeaten run that has followed, with Neil’s side conceding just 10 goals in that period. That has seen Preston’s average for goals conceded per game drop from 2.1 goals a game in their opening 10 matches, to 1.25 goals per game in their subsequent eight fixtures.

As well as an improvement at the back Neil’s side have also improved in front of goal in recent games, scoring 19 goals in their last eight games compared to just 11 goals in their opening 10 matches. This up turn in form at both ends of the field has seen Preston become much more like their resilient best last season, which saw them lose just 11 games, with only the three promoted sides Wolves, Cardiff City and Fulham losing fewer games.

The performance against Blackburn highlighted Preston’s recent improvement, with an aggressive start fueled by a high intensity enabling them to take early control of the game, with two goals from Tom Barkhuizen and Callum Robinson inside the first 10 minutes. North End defended well when required and despite Blackburn pulling a goal back early in the second half manages to add two further goals to seal an impressive win.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the game Alex Neil expressed his delight with his sides performance; “”It was a good performance. We started well, got a 2-0 lead, created some great chances and finished our chances.
We were aggressive, wanted to win, and fully deserved it.”

The reaction to conceding, to come back and finish the game off was probably the most pleasing aspect. “At the end of the day we won against our local rivals, the lads played well, and I am pleased.”

Neil will hope his side can continue their recent consistency as the season progresses and if The Lilywhites can continue to improve at both ends of the field, they could have the potential to climb further up the Championship table.

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