Encouraging signs despite Preston defeatpublished at 13:14 BST
Andy Bayes
BBC Radio Lancashire's Sport Editor
Image source, Getty ImagesNot the start that Paul Heckingbottom would have wanted or the terrific following down the M61 from the Preston faithful.
The damage was done long before the final whistle. Two goals conceded, three yellow cards collected, countless offside decisions and barely a meaningful save required from Bolton goalkeeper Jack Bonham painted a picture of a side completely out of sync.
A switch to a back four was perhaps forecast during the week, when Heckingbottom suggested that he wants this season's squad to have more flexibility. It's fair to say that a groundswell of fan opinion has been calling for it quite regularly in recent years.
But, on the evidence of the first half, the defensive unit looked uncertain, disconnected and vulnerable whenever Bolton turned possession over and drove forward.
Heckingbottom found the first-half display a difficult one to explain. He told me: "We gave ourselves a real mountain to climb. I felt it was just something as simple as their enthusiasm, their energy about being in this league and the crowd. It seemed to catch us cold."
You can pick the bones out of both first-half goals. From a shot outside the box, the ever-reliable Daniel Iversen palmed the ball straight into the path of Sam Dalby, who finished, with Liam Lindsay caught napping.
The second goal came within two passes of a North End attack. McAtee found Gale, who isolated Pol Valentin, cut inside and smashed it home.
I fully expected changes at the break, but they came a little later.
All five substitutes made positive impacts. Jusef Erabi is already making himself a fans' favourite. As well as contributing on the pitch, he was orchestrating the noise levels from the supporters behind the goal. It's just a shame that it took so long to get what was, in the end, merely a consolation.
One substitute crossed for another as Vukcevic found Erabi, who beat his team-mate Small and the Bolton defence before heading in off the bar.
Lindsay should have levelled it in the dying seconds with a header and, before the goal, the most gilt-edged of chances had been missed.
Osmajic, who struggled to stay onside throughout, finally got a decision from the assistant referee and, one-on-one with Bonham, elected to try to square the ball to Erabi. The execution wasn't there with the pass and he may actually have played Erabi offside in the process.
Perhaps the most significant positive came in midfield.
Leo Leroy's debut was highly encouraging. When a technician of Paul Gallagher's calibre speaks highly of a player, people tend to listen.
From the moment he stepped onto the pitch, Leroy looked comfortable in possession, eager to receive the ball and capable of moving it intelligently. It was a cameo rather than a definitive statement, but it suggested Preston North End may have acquired a player capable of raising the technical standard of the team.
It's not like Preston to spend figures such as the £12m they have this summer, and there is more to come. Potentially, a takeover could follow further down the line too. It promises to be an eventful season at Deepdale.
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