There is trouble brewing at Preston and in reality the club has been on a downward curve for some time which culminated in what supporters see as a completely abject performance in a first league derby game in over ten years.
Lack of real investment in moving a squad forwards over the past five years combined with the mishandling of contracts has led to a sorry state of affairs.
Preston have a squad that should be capable of finishing midtable and at least challenging on the pitch against Blackpool who are newly promoted and in reality probably have a much smaller budget than Preston.
For the record Anderson gave the hosts the lead in the first half. Whiteman missed Preston's main chance in the second before Madine made the points safe for Blackpool. Alan Browne was sent off in stoppage time for Preston after receiving a second yellow card.
There are now vociferous calls for a change in management at the club desite McAvoy only taking the helm earlier this year. In all honesty the inexperienced manager is only part of the problem.
The team has changed for the poorer over the past couple of seasons. Whilst we all accept Preston have to sell to balance the books it is clear that players of quality have not been replaced adequately. This has led to the present state of affairs.
The manager is left with a far weaker squad than at the start of recent seasons but a more motivational and tactically aware leader may have inspired more out of a distinctly average squad.
Preston are presently drifting as a club. It is unclear what the immediate future holds both on the pitch and also behind the scenes with the sad passing of Trevor Hemmings but needless to say the club needs some leadership and direction to stop this current rut.