Following the last international break Preston reignited their season with wins over lowly Blackpool and Redaing only to nose dive into a poor run of form which saw any hope of a top six finish disintegrate.
Lowe has now completed his first full season in charge. In reality the position and points total achieved is not much different to previous seasons stretching back to 2015 when Preston were promoted to the Championship.
There has been no real improvement on the pitch. The number of impressive performances can be counted on one hand. Against the better sides Preston were never really a threat with two defeats to Sheffield United, a no show away at Burnley along with a poor display away at Middlesbrough.
In the past the complaints were about budgets and sides relegated from the Premier League flexing their finanical muscle. This season Luton finished in the top six for a second consecutive season and Millwall just missed out but still finished above Preston whilst Coventry have overtaken Preston.
North End are standing still whilst others pass them. This was the lowest point total for a team reaching the play offs in recent memory and Preston didn't even look like they could mount a challenge. Sunderland, promoted from League one only last season, had more ambition to secure a play off berth than Preston.
Every summer is a big summer for Preston. Players move on with new ones arriving. We may even sign a right wing back but inevitably Preston will scratch around for loan signings and bargain basement buys.
Next season will be harder simply because the likes of Norwich, Watford and West Brom will not have consecutive bad seasons at this level. Further, the relegation spots from the Premier League have yet to be decided and the teams promoted from League One are doing so with a singiifcant haul of points.
It will be interesting to see how things develop over the next 12 months but in reality it's likely to be same time, same place next May unless things change drastically.