Preston North End suffered yet another defeat on Saturday as Wrexham earned a 4-1 victory against the Lilywhites. This came just four days after Birmingham City dominated their midweek meeting with a 4-0 win. Graham Alexander has inherited a squad that already needs serious rejuvenation in order to avoid a surmounting relegation scrap.

This heavy loss to Wrexham has soured Alexander’s very early tenure after his sentimental return. The Scotsman left Bradford City having guided the Bantams to an automatic promotion from League Two in 2024/25, followed by a fourth-place finish in the third tier last season, sadly missing out on promotion via the play-offs.

A clear project had been set out under Alexander and his understandable decision to jump ship may spark serious repercussions for both sides’ trajectories. A dismal performance and result was amplified by Ben Whiteman – who left Preston this summer after a clash between himself and Paul Heckingbottom – scoring and assisting against the club he captained just five months ago.

Where Has It Gone Wrong For Preston?

Clubs like Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City have all tired of their lower-half finishes over the past few seasons. Implementing a clear philosophy and/or ambition in the transfer market has rewarded them with early appraisal and a significant improvement in league position. Preston have seemingly let their smart, budget-conscious recruitment of years gone by slip into complacency despite their largest summer expenditure to date.

The most glaringly obvious issue for North End at the weekend was their back three. Andrew Hughes, Liam Lindsay and Jordan Storey are still prominent centre-backs in the Preston lineup, despite starting relatively consistently as a trio since 2022. Nevertheless, they all started against Wrexham. There have been positives during each of their respective careers with the Lilywhites, but they simply must be moved on (with Jordan Storey accommodating more of a back-up role) if Preston want to survive beyond a looming relegation this season.

Preston have kept one clean sheet since November 2024 when Storey, Lindsay & Hughes have started as the back three 😵‍💫 #pnefc

— Ben HD (@PNEBenHD) October 17, 2026

This department has actually seen very little meaningful investment over the years despite smart deals for Odel Offiah and Lewis Gibson prior to the summer. The tendency to deploy a back-five system while having a threadbare and makeshift wing-back roster has been the most perplexing situation for PNE.

This window, Harry Clarke was at least brought in from Ipswich Town as a signing of serious intent. The former Sheffield United right-back has become a versatile, aggressive option, while Caleb Wiley – despite currently being injured – has shown glimpses of the talent that led to Chelsea investing in him.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing in football. At the time of Alfie Devine’s permanent acquisition, following a successful loan spell last season, euphoria echoed throughout the Preston cohort. The former Tottenham Hotspur youngster nearly tripled North End’s record signing of Milutin Osmajić from Cadiz in 2021.

However, not spreading the £6 million worth of funds across the squad looks to be an eye-catching investment that has ultimately backfired. Devine’s chance creation and attacking intent has remained prominent so far, but having a catalyst of his quality doesn’t matter if it is nullified by the attacking output in front of and around him.

Market Decisions To Blame

Undoubtedly, the striker roster has been decimated and replaced inadequately over the last few seasons. With Osmajić moving to Genoa, and immediately impacting a side struggling in Serie A, the lack of a proven goal scorer has come back to bite PNE. Johnny Kenny was brought in as the seemingly direct replacement for the Montenegrin international.

The ex-Celtic prospect impressed against Queens Park Rangers, scoring a brace of two superb finishes. However, an early injury left Jusef Erabi as the only recognised number nine in the side.

Arriving from Genk on loan this summer, Erabi sprung into life with two goals in his first 44 minutes wearing a North End shirt. Since then, his impact has been sparse. George Gryba has looked like the Championship side’s go-to youth product to help fill out the bench in recent weeks, but has been denied any meaningful opportunity to prove himself. This exact lack of faith in academy players has been another fan concern.

Preston have been exceedingly praised for their structure and savvy recruitment over the years despite a shoestring budget. The loan market has been a phenomenal short-term investment for the club, with high-reward future pathways for some serious talent brought into Deepdale. Alvaro Carreras is now a Real Madrid left-back, competing with Marc Cucurella for a starting place, having lined up under Ryan Lowe during the 2022/23 season.

Anthony Gordon, although with limited game time under Alex Neil, is Barcelona’s most electric winger behind Lamine Yamal. Troy Parrott has become one of the most enigmatic strikers in Europe and Liam Delap, Cameron Archer, Sepp van den Berg, and Harrison Armstrong have all shared the same Northern pipeline over the past few seasons.

🇫🇷 The goals keep coming for Cameron Archer!

The striker on loan from #SaintsFC has now scored in all four of his appearances so far for Auxerre.

Although he could not prevent a 4-1 loss to Charlie Cresswell’s Rennes this weekend. pic.twitter.com/88kQTEy1rI

— English Players Abroad (@EnglishAbroad1) October 12, 2026

A move into a more panicked approach has seen Peter Risdale – who needs to hold a vast amount of accountability for the deterioration of sensible, logical, forward-thinking recruitment – bring in Liam Gibbs (who has since picked up a 2-3 month injury) and Delano Burgzorg (who has failed to impress his parent club Middlesbrough despite several Championship seasons).

An absolute howler last season saw Milos Lukovic play just 45 minutes of football for a team in dire need of more firepower. This is not just hapless, this is a categorical mishap in recruitment. It looks as though it will be the biggest mountain Preston will have to climb since returning to the division and Alexander may need to work a miracle to get this dysfunctional squad to tick.