Grayson expects PNE to face tougher test
The division in the season just finished was regarded as the most competitive it had been for some years.
Much focus in 2016/17 was on the sides who had come down from the Premier League – Newcastle, Aston Villa and Norwich City.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdNewcastle were the only one of that trio to go straight back up to the top flight.
This time, Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Hull have made the drop, all with the biggest amount of parachute money yet given to relegated clubs.
So the battle to achieve what Newcastle, Brighton and Huddersfield have just done, is set to be a feisty one.
Grayson said: “I think last season was really tough with Newcastle, Norwich and Villa coming down.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“They are three big clubs and joined some others who had underachieved the season before.
“This time Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Hull have come down.
“Throw in Aston Villa who under-achieved, Derby, who spend a lot of money, and the teams who missed out in the play-offs, it’s getting stronger every year because that money from the Premier League drips down.”
It has been successive 11th-place finishes for Grayson’s North End since they returned to the second tier. They should really have finished higher in the season just ended after being in the mix for a play-off push until early April.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdBut the Lilywhites took just one point from their last six games, ending with the same number of points and in the same position they had done a year before.
Grayson said: “We were a bit disappointed how we finished.
“We ran out of steam a little bit, picked up a few injuries and suspensions, which didn’t help us.
“We’ve got to keep improving and working hard to try and get better each year.”
The North End squad are back at Springfields for pre-season training on Thursday, June 29.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIt will be a five-week build-up to the new campaign which kicks off on the weekend of August 5/6.
Preston have announced six pre-season friendlies to date, with another still to be added.
The EFL fixture release date is June 22 – a week after the Premier League announce theirs.