Preston opened the new season with a shocking 4-1 home defeat at the hands of Hull City – and Tom Barkhuizen has been brutally honest.
It all started so well for North End. Emil Riis turned home Barkhuizen’s cross to make it 1-0, but Preston were dismal from that point.
Hull dominated and waltzed their way into a 4-1 win, handing Frankie McAvoy the worst possible start to his first full season as a manager.
Preston at least have a quick chance to hit back, facing Mansfield Town in the Carabao Cup tonight, but defeat would leave North End with huge questions to answer.
Fans have been left angry and concerned by Saturday’s defeat, believing that the loss is a sign of things to come this term.
Winger Barkhuizen at least fronted up after the final whistle on Saturday, and offered pretty stark comments to iFollow on Preston’s mentality and approach in the transfer market.
“Whenever we get beat, we seem to get battered, so that’s obviously a mentality thing we need to change,” said Barkhuizen.
“It’s not been the best pre-season results-wise, and there has been a bit of negativity off the pitch, which you can understand – the people are frustrated, they want us to go and spend money, they want us to bring more players in. A 4-1 defeat isn’t going to help that, it probably justifying the people who have been negative, they’re gonna be sat at home probably thinking ‘well we’re right’, and now it’s up to us players to put out chests out and prove that we deserve to be here and prove that we are the players who can have a good season,” he added.
We’ve heard fans share concerns about North End’s lack of spending for a long time now.
Former players have even made similar comments, with Ben Pearson and Jordan Hugill admitting that Preston’s approach in the transfer market left them a little frustrated.
For a current player to bring up these matters should be a massive wake-up call to everybody at Preston, especially as Barkhuizen could go the same way as Pearson and Hugill.
Barkhuizen’s contract ends next summer, and he could simply walk away for free.
If Preston don’t show ambition, more players will choose to move on find clubs who will push for promotion. The warning is there, loud and clear.