Jake: An awful lot. I
recently spoke to a former player who played under Alex at North End and he
said he was the most meticulous manager he’d worked with in his career in terms
of tactics, training and prep for games. I think the players need a lot of
credit, too. One of the reasons I think we tend to go under the radar is
because we aren’t one of the ‘bigger clubs’ if you will but the players know
their jobs, they are very, very good players and they’re the ones who go out
and carry out the manager’s instruction and for the most part this season, it’s
worked out well because as you say, we’re currently 6th.
The competition for sixth looks
weak, in comparison with recent seasons – there’s lots of competitors but they
all seem to have at least one significant shortcoming. Do you think you’ve been
slightly fortunate in that sense?
Jake: I’m torn on this,
to be honest. We’ve perhaps been fortunate to an extent but we are where we are
because of our form over the 75/80% or so that we’ve played of the season so
far and that form has gotten us to 6th and we deserve to be there.
Eight of the 10 PNE players who
managed 20+ league starts have been there for at least three years – in some
cases, much longer. Do you see it as an advantage, having a stable group of
players? Alternatively, are there problems with recruitment that could become
more costly once some of the stalwarts either leave or decline?
Jake: To answer the
first question, I do think it helps to have a stable group of players who all
seem to get on together and are all very good players. Alex Neil has improved
the likes of Darnell Fisher, Ben Pearson, Ben Davies, Alan Browne, Tom Barkhuizen
and Callum Robinson and Jordan Hugill before they left the club and I think
that’s another thing people don’t consider.
I think we will have a
problem in the summer of 2021, though. As it stands the following players are
out of contract that summer: Billy Bodin, David Nugent, Ben Davies, Ben
Pearson, Alan Browne, Sean Maguire, Andrew Hughes, Daniel Johnson, Josh Harrop,
Darnell Fisher, Ryan Ledson, Josh Earl, Paul Huntington, Louis Moult and Adam
O’Reilly.
That’s 15 senior
players, with the exception of Adam O’Reilly who is still a young lad and yet
to make an impact in the first team. The majority of those players are also in
the starting XI or at least in the matchday squad week in, week out so it’s a
lot of work to do to either find replacements within our budget or offering new
contracts out.
I don’t think many North Enders
were overly keen on Declan Rudd last summer, but he’s started all 37 league
games this season. Dec defying doubters?
Jake: Undoubtedly his
form has improved this season. He had a couple of questionable games early on
this season in my opinion but as the season has progressed, he’s improved as
we’ve gone on and is well worth his new contract.
Connor Ripley was probably the
best goalkeeper in League One in 2016-17 and he did ok last year at Stanley
too. With just two PNE appearances so far, do you hope he’ll get a fair crack
of the whip?
Jake: I simply don’t
think he’s up to it and I also don’t think the manager and his staff think that
too, it’s that simple.
Darnell Fisher got some bad
reviews from Rotherham fans when he signed three years ago but he seems to have
proved himself at right-back with 100 appearances for the Lilywhites. Are you
hoping he can stay free from suspension when football returns?
Jake: I hope he can stay
free from injury and suspension, yes. He’s probably one of the best right-backs
in the Championship at the moment in my opinion. Not the best, by any stretch
but probably top 5/10.
Andrew Hughes is a steady
enough left-back but he won’t offer you much beyond the half-way line… and of
course, Joe Rafferty is right-footed. Is this an area you’d like to see the
club address when a transfer window opens?
Jake: It’s an area that
we need to address, without a doubt. As you mentioned, Raff is right-footed and
naturally a right-back. He’s okay as a fill-in left-back but if we’re serious
about getting out of the Championship, Joe Rafferty isn’t the answer, even as
back up.
Regarding Andrew Hughes,
I like him a lot. He’s brilliant in the air but this season seems to have
regressed a bit in terms of his attacking output and I’m not sure if that’s
anything to do with his injury problems. But yeah, we need to bring in a new
left-back because I think Josh Earl’s long term future lies at centre-back,
like Ben Davies.
We mentioned the club’s
questionable recent success rate when it comes to recruitment, but Patrick
Bauer looks like a strong addition. How would you assess his centre-back
partnership with Ben Davies?
Jake: Pat is up there as
one of the best in the league, for me. He’s has been brilliant for us and seems
to be the perfect foil for Ben who is more of a ball player. Also, he’s been
immense in the air. It’s no surprise to see him, according to WhoScored, at the
top of the list for total aerial duels won by central defenders with 10 or more
appearances in the Championship.
The one area Davies is
questioned on is his turn of pace… and I’m not sure that’s necessarily
something Bauer is renowned for either. Davies is obviously a particularly good
centre-back – but if he departed and Josh Earl were to be converted into a
central defender, you might be stronger at defending against transitions?
Jake: In fact, I
disagree. Ben isn’t slow at all, he’s quick both with the ball at his feet and
without. Bauer isn’t necessarily quick though.
One imagines you have to deal
with those transitions more often when you don’t have the fantastic Ben Pearson
scuttling, snapping and snuffing out attacks then playing crisp, forward passes
to get the team moving. If Pearson were to leave, do you think the club should
try to replace him like-for-like, or go without a default ball winner and
encourage more defensive awareness throughout the team?
Jake: I would imagine
they would look to replace him like for like. With whom, I’m not sure. I’ve
seen Ben Whiteman of Doncaster mentioned and I think we’ve spoken about him on
the podcast too but whether or not that’s a deal we can do, especially after
the way COVID-19 will affect football moving forward, I’m not sure.
Another important midfielder is
Daniel Johnson who, as we saw in the 5-1 win over Barnsley in particular, can
be a key creative outlet between the lines. Is he best suited to the number 10
position rather than somewhere deeper?
Jake: Yeah, absolutely.
The game away at Barnsley, the game away at Wigan are two others that stick out
to me for brilliant performances from DJ playing higher up the pitch and making
things happen, including scoring goals.
When Brad Potts showed a lot of
potential at Carlisle and Blackpool, he tended to be the most advanced in a
three-man midfield, given the freedom to make driving forward runs. Has he been
unlucky that Johnson has been in great form this season – and that Alan Browne
seems to be favoured when Johnson is out?
Jake: I think he’s being
used completely differently at North End. Alex Neil seems to have given
him specific instructions in certain games, like the Leeds game away on Boxing
Day or the West Brom game at home. He’s also played a number of different
positions in his time here, too.
Midfielders Tom Bayliss and
Ryan Ledson both got their Deepdale moves off the back of showing potential in
Leagues One and Two, but this season, they have really struggled for minutes
while veteran Paul Gallagher has started 18 league games. Would you like to see
Neil reduce Gally’s minutes next season and start to introduce Bayliss and
Ledson more?
Jake: First of all,
Gally might not even be at the club next season or playing professional
football for that matter. He’s out of contract at the end of this season and he
could possibly retire. I’d like to see him given another 12-month deal, though.
In terms of Bayliss and Ledson, I would like to see them get a chance but on
the whole, we have an incredibly good, seasoned at this level, midfield with
Ben Pearson, Alan Browne, Daniel Johnson and of course, Gallagher. There are
question marks over the other three players, too.
We could possibly cash
in on them this summer considering they’re out of contract next summer and if
that happens, I would imagine both Ledson and Bayliss would get a chance. But
it’s worth noting Bayliss has missed a chunk of the season recently with an
injury.
Tom Barkhuizen has chipped in
with a respectable nine goals this season; four from playing wide right and
five from starting up top. He’s full of direct running, isn’t he?
Jake: Absolutely, and
he’s a very underrated finisher, too. He’s a very good Championship player.
Sean Maguire scored ten goals
in his debut season at Deepdale – when he’d been injured between November and
March that year – yet three fewer in his subsequent two terms combined. Would
you like to see him try to push for double-figures next year?
Jake: I would yes, of
course. He was brought in as a striker and it’s an area we’ve struggled in this
season but his work rate and overall what he brings to the side
justifies his place in the XI most weeks. Despite what some North End fans
think, Alex Neil likes what Seani offers which, I’m presuming, is the reason he
starts him when he can.
Also, just a note that
some of the stick he has had from some of our fanbase on social media this
season has been bang out of order.
Barkhuizen and Maguire are
probably best out wide, Jayden Stockley looks short on most attributes aside
from aerial prowess, David Nugent can’t play 90 minutes and Louis Moult has
been a long-term absentee. Are you in need of a striker without one clear
weakness?
Jake: Without a shadow
of a doubt. Whenever the transfer window happens we need to address two key
areas; striker and left-back.
Putting aside the ultimate
outcome for the moment, how do you reflect on the season as a whole?
Jake: As it stands right now with players returning to training recently, I reflect on the season, positively. We’ve punched well above our weight in terms of budget and hopefully we continue to do so when football eventually returns.
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