Things were looking up for Preston North End under interim head coach Frankie McAvoy, but they were brought crashing back down to earth at the weekend after a 5-0 thumping by Brentford.

McAvoy had brought in four points from his first two games against Norwich and Swansea City following the sacking of Alex Neil, but the Lilywhites capitulated at Deepdale against the Bees.

A change of tactics in the second half didn't work and it led to a mauling, but whilst PNE aren't mathematically safe just yet, they should be in the Championship next season.

There looks to be a mammoth rebuilding job on their hands though, both from a managerial standpoint and from the squad, as it looks nothing like the one that was in and around the play-off places last season.

Let's look at eight players that could be departing North End before the start of next season with the club set to look very, very different.

North End fans were hoping that Bodin could provide the goals cutting in from the right-wing when he arrived at Deepdale in January 2018.

He had been prolific for Bristol Rovers in Leagues One and Two so PNE took a punt - but it just hasn't worked out for Bodin and it's not all his own fault.

Bodin missed the whole of the 2018/19 season with a knee injury and made just 18 league appearances in the following campaign after suffering more issues.

The Welshman has missed the majority of this season as well, making just four Championship outings and he looks destined to be released when his contract expires this summer.

Another player who has been desperately unfortunate with injuries, Moult will probably be heading out of the exit door when his contract expires but he's been unlucky.

A player who has always had a strong rapport with the fans, Moult wasn't the most prolific in his first season and a half at Deepdale, scoring six times in 34 games in the Championship.

He got the 2019/20 season off to a great start though by scoring against Wigan, however disaster would strike as he damaged his knee ligaments against Swansea a week later - leaving him on the sidelines for over 18 months.

Moult has recently returned to training and has been on North End's bench for the last two games, but due to the severity of the injury he had there's probably not a chance that PNE will risk giving him another contract so an exit looks really likely.

No North End fan could begrudge Cunningham his Premier League move in 2018 when he joined Cardiff City, but it didn't quite work out for the Irishman who suffered injuries and fell out of favour to Joe Bennett.

Supporters were delighted when Cunningham re-joined in January initially on loan before it was turned into a permanent deal until the end of this season, but some were apprehensive that his past injury record may have caught up with him.

The Cunningham of old was out in force though as he netted a stunner against Blackburn Rovers in February, however a run of five straight starts caused the 30-year-old to break down and he hasn't been seen since the start of March.

He's quite clearly still a talented Championship left-back, but can North End risk offering him an extended deal with his injury record?

Gallagher may not technically get 'released', but it does look like he's coming to the end of his playing days.

Despite his advancing years, Gallagher has always been a regular in the last few seasons whether that be as a starter or coming off the bench, and his goal contributions haven't wained either, scoring six times in each of the past two campaigns.

Now at the age of 36 though, Gallagher has had to take a bit of a backseat role - he's had 13 Championship outings but was more frequently seen as part of the coaching staff alongside Alex Neil, and when McAvoy was put in temporary charge last month, Gallagher was officially named as part of his team.

We could very well see a full-time transition this summer from player to coach for Gallagher, who will probably hang his boots up following a stellar career.

PNE brought in seven loanees in January (although two were converted into permanent deals), and Alex Neil probably didn't want to do that much business.

Some of the loan players like Sepp van den Berg and Daniel Iversen have really impressed - one player though who has been a bit ropey is Liam Lindsay.

After the late move to Liverpool for Ben Davies, the club had to be in the market for a centre-back, and Lindsay was brought in from Stoke City, having not played for their senior squad for a whole year.

In some games the Scot has looked commanding but in others he's looked cumbersome and unimpressive - it's unlikely that North End will be pursuing an extension to the loan or a permanent deal next season.

With Declan Rudd looking likely to be fit for pre-season and Daniel Iversen almost certainly going to be a target for a full-season loan, there's no real point in having Ripley anymore.

After an impressive half-season with Accrington Stanley, Ripley joined North End in January 2019 from Middlesbrough, he was an understudy to Rudd though until the final two games of the season, where he conceded six goals and in truth didn't look like he had much quality.

Ripley was restricted to four cup appearances last season, including a 4-1 drubbing by Norwich where he had a bit of a shocker, and he was between the sticks again in another FA Cup thumping recently against Wycombe Wanderers.

He still has one year left on his deal, but it wouldn't be a shock to see him want first-team football elsewhere and North End wanting to get rid.

There's no doubting that Barkhuizen has exceeded all expectations since joining in January 2017, but is this summer the time for him to move on?

The winger has just one year left on his contract and this season hasn't exactly been his best, with PNE perhaps believing they could upgrade on him.

Barkhuizen made the step up from League Two to the Championship very easily and although he's never broke double figures for a league season, nine goals in the 2019/20 campaign was a good return.

Despite being an ever-present player in the current campaign, Barkhuizen's effectiveness has dipped, scoring just four times - all in a two week period - and there's definitely a case to be made for his contract to not be extended.

Just what do North End do with Tom Bayliss?

The midfielder came in nearly two years ago now to much fanfare, with PNE paying a seven-figure fee for his services after impressing at Coventry City in League One.

For whatever reason though, Bayliss has hardly featured at North End, playing just one league game last season and whilst he has made eight Championship appearances this season, they all came in a month-long period where PNE were struggling with injuries.

Bayliss' luck hasn't changed under McAvoy's temporary management - he's been stuck on the bench for the last three games and his future must surely be getting considered ahead of pre-season, whether that be him moving out on loan or even cutting their losses on the 22-year-old.