“Surprised” - Simon Grayson weighs in on Ryan Lowe, Preston supporter situation | OneFootball

Former Preston North End boss Simon Grayson has praised the Preston board for keeping faith with Ryan Lowe and revealed he was "surprised" by the severe criticism he faced earlier this season.

It’s been a campaign of highs and lows for North End, but, with nine games to go, they are firmly in the hunt for a play-off spot, as they trail sixth-placed Norwich City by five points with a game in hand.

So, there will be a belief that the team can get over the line, particularly as they have momentum, as they’ve lost just once in their last nine outings.

Ryan Lowe answers Preston critics

Despite that, Preston were unconvincing earlier in the season, and a terrible run from late November to early January saw the pressure really build on Lowe.

Yet, the hierarchy at Deepdale kept faith in the ex-Plymouth boss, which included putting out a statement to reiterate that he had their support.

And, speaking to FLW, via Plinko, former Preston chief Grayson revealed he was ‘surprised’ at the criticism Lowe received, as he urged other clubs to follow the lead of North End who seem to have come out the other side after backing their boss.

He said: “I have sympathy for every coach or manager up and down the country because I've been through it yourself. When you get scrutinised, you get stick, but also when you get the plaudits you've got to accept that as well. Both sides.

“I'm surprised the stick that Ryan got a little bit but Preston are a really good club, they stand by their managers. Peter Ridsdale and the owners came out and said: ‘Look, we're staying behind Ryan’ and that's been positive because the fans have accepted it and then they’ve had some really good results in the last few weeks, which has got them to a better position with a chance of getting into the play-offs.

“That could be a good yardstick for other clubs going forward in the future. They'll give it their real good shot and the expectancy level is to try and get into the Premier League but there is a realistic expectancy level.

“There is not the demand that they have to do it where there maybe is at Leicester, Leeds and other clubs but there is an expectancy level that they would like to go there because they’ve never been in the Premier League.”

Preston are progressing under Ryan Lowe

You could understand the frustration from the Preston fans earlier this season, as the results were poor and the football wasn’t great to watch.

But, there does need to be a bit of perspective, and the reality is that they simply don’t have the resources of many rivals at this level.

To many outsiders, Preston sitting in ninth position and having a shot at the top six is a very good position, so, as Grayson points out, the board deserve credit for not panicking a few months ago and making a change.

Now, all focus is on trying to finish the job, with Preston back in action against Rotherham on Good Friday.