Paul Heckingbottom gave damning verdict of Preston North End ranks and the one thing they failed to achieve vs Plymouth

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Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom gave his verdict on his side’s poor defeat that drags them into the fight against relegation.

The Championship relegation fight saw plenty of unexpected action in the penultimate weekend of the 2024/25 campaign.

In the early kick-off, Luton Town notched a vital win at home to Coventry City in the dying embers of the clash to claw themselves out of the relegation spots, whilst Derby County beat Hull City, meaning that the Tigers now find themselves in the bottom three.

Elsewhere, Cardiff City have had their relegation confirmed, whilst Plymouth Argyle aren’t mathematically down, but would need to overturn an insurmountable goal difference to stand any sort of chance.

As for Preston North End, their shocking defeat to Plymouth saw Paul Heckingbottom’s side sucked back into the relegation dog fight. The result puts them just one point above the relegation zone, and Heckingbottom has given a verdict on exactly why his side were unable to defeat Plymouth on home soil. 

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Paul Heckingbottom gives verdict on Plymouth Argyle defeat and ‘wasteful’ moments

Preston North End have now endured a disastrous run recently, not winning in their last eight games.

As a result, Preston are now far from safe in the Championship relegation fight, and will have to better Hull City’s result on the final day, who face Portsmouth on their travels.

Following the lethargic and disappointing 2-1 defeat against a Plymouth side with more than one foot in the door of relegation, Heckingbottom had his say on his side’s performance and what exactly they lacked.

“It was the tale of two boxes,” said Heckingbottom, speaking to the club’s in-house media. “We were wasteful with our chances and with the few that they had, they took them. That’s it. That’s the game there and then.

“Today it’s on us. We’ve had grievances against other things throughout this season, but today it’s on us. We didn’t take the chances.”

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Preston North End achilles heel is obvious following Plymouth Argyle defeat

As Heckingbottom outlines in his verdict of the defeat to Plymouth, Preston simply weren’t good enough in front of goal, and that sums up their 2024/25 season, especially of late.

Two wins in 16 Championship clashes is far from good enough, and many questions need to be asked of the coach, but also his attacking options, who have not offered anywhere what has been required.

Milutin Osmajic’s goals from mid-season have dried up, and barring Emil Riis’ goal last time out, he had seven goalless games, albeit many were from the bench.

If Preston are out of luck in the final weekend of the season, much of the blame will fall on the strikers and their lack of end-product that has cost them on many occasions this campaign.