This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Preston North End have been in a bit of a stale run at the moment, with the Lilywhites struggling to win a game since August and after another dour performance against Derby at the weekend, it raises the question of whether the pressure should be on Frankie McAvoy at Deepdale.

The manager steadied the ship at the club last season after Alex Neil departed and after doing well in steering Preston away from the relegation zone, he has begun this year less successfully. Some early wins have given way to plenty of draws and a loss to QPR.

It means that North End have picked up just six points from a possible 21 in their last seven fixtures - and it's the kind of form that has seen them drop steadily back towards that relegation zone. With the side once challenging for a play-off spot, it's something that PNE fans don't want to see and they'd no doubt want to avoid a battle against the drop if possible.

After another average performance against the Rams at the weekend - and with a big clash against Coventry coming up in midweek - the question is then, should the Lilywhites consider replacing Frankie McAvoy sooner rather than later? Or should they give the first time manager more time? If he should be replaced, who could replace him?

We posed this question to some of our writers and here is their verdict...

 

 

Toby Wilding

It does feel like the scrutiny ought to be mounting on McAvoy at Deepdale.
Although they are not losing many at the minute, Preston are also finding it hard to win games as well, and that means they are going to struggle to make much progress this season and beyond.
Indeed, Tom Barkhuizen's recent comments about the club facing a relegation battle may not have helped McAvoy, only adding to the pressure on the North End boss after that insight into the player's opinion of the current situation.
If Preston were to move on from McAvoy, they may need to look to League One to tempt a manager to come to Deepdale, and Ryan Lowe, who has worked wonders in turning Plymouth around, and is familiar with the North West area from his time with Bury, could be one candidate worth considering.
George Dagless
The simple answer to whether he should be under is pressure is, yes he should.
Every manager is under pressure to an extent and when you go on a run like Preston have without a win there will naturally be scrutiny placed on the manager.
I don't think it's totally his fault but there are things he could be doing better and it's clear results need to turn for the better and fast.
Who could come in is a different question altogether, meanwhile, as you wonder who Preston might be able to attract financially first and foremost?
In saying that, it's a big club in the Championship that still has potential to be challenging for the play-offs with a bit of momentum and some extra recruits and perhaps an up and coming manager with new ideas from League One or Two could do the business.
It just feels like Preston should look to really freshen it up if McAvoy does lose his job.
Joshua Cole
Although Preston would have been hoping to make a better start to the 2021/22 campaign, they have to hold fire when it comes to sacking Frankie McAvoy. Instead of parting ways with the 54-year-old, the Lilywhites should give him the opportunity to try to transform the club's fortunes in the coming weeks. By leading Preston to positive results in their clashes with Coventry City and Blackpool, McAvoy could use the momentum gained from these displays to help the club push on in the second-tier. It could be argued that the Lilywhites may not necessarily thrive in McAvoy's absence as there is no guarantee that another individual will be able to get a tune out of their current squad of players.