Alexander’s first Preston win still leaves them seven points from safety
Wednesday 11 November 2026 · By Ethan Sinclair
Preston remain 24th in the Championship after a 1–0 victory over Southampton on Saturday earned Graham Alexander his first league win in seven attempts in charge at Deepdale. Jordan Thompson’s 33rd-minute volley, agreed by the BBC and Southampton’s official reaction, and a determined display from Lee Nicholls on his league debut, produced their first league clean sheet of the season, but the safety gap is still seven points after 15 matches.
Nicholls made eight saves as Saints recorded 23 shots and eight on target, while Preston had two shots on target. BBC coverage calls Thompson’s strike his second goal of the season. Alexander told BBC Radio Lancashire: “I’m chuffed for the players, they deserve it.” He added: “Everyone deserves a little bit of relief this weekend. Maybe a pint. But there’s plenty of work for us to do going ahead.” He is the manager; no change is justified by any automated lineup field that has previously attached another name to the bench.
Preston have two wins, two draws and 11 defeats from 15 matches, with 13 scored and 30 conceded. Their eight points leave them two behind Burnley and Derby, who both have 10, and seven behind Lincoln, 21st on 15. The relegation zone is 22nd to 24th; 21st is not part of it. Other struggling sides also took points at the weekend, which is why a badly needed win has not closed the gap on its own. Third to eighth enter the six-team play-offs, with fifth meeting eighth and sixth meeting seventh in one-off eliminators, and third and fourth going straight to the two-legged semi-finals.
BBC live text recorded Vukčević going off because of an injury late on at Deepdale; no diagnosis was given and no fresh mid-break bulletin was obtained. Kenny’s midweek hamstring problem remains older reporting without a verified recovery date. Iversen was among the substitutes, and is not established as injured simply because Nicholls started.
BBC figures also recorded 78.1 per cent possession for Southampton, underlining how much of the afternoon Preston had to defend. The next match is away to West Ham on Saturday 21 November at 15:00 GMT, a fixture already confirmed by the club. West Ham are ninth on 23 points, one outside the play-off places, have scored 37 league goals, the most in the division, and are coming off Scott Parker’s first defeat. Cardiff away follows on Tuesday 24 November at 19:45 GMT. Alexander’s first win supplies relief, and perhaps the pint he mentioned, but he was clear that the work ahead remains substantial. There has been no Championship league football since Saturday 7 November. Their last six league results are loss, loss, draw, loss, loss, win. Survival is not already secured.
Deepdale is one of the oldest continuously used league grounds in the world, and still sits on the site Preston North End first occupied in the 1870s. Today it is a compact all-seater stadium of 23,404 on Sir Tom Finney Way, postcode PR1 6RU. For visiting supporters the picture is simple: you are in the Bill Shankly Kop, the steep single-tier stand behind the north goal. Standard Championship allocations run at around 3,000; for bigger followings the club can give you most or all of the 5,933 seats.
The Kop opened in 1998 and is named after the former North End half-back who later built Liverpool. There are no pillars. The rake is sharp, so even mid-tier seats feel close to the pitch and the roof carries noise well. Wheelchair spaces exist at pitch level and in elevated bays; book those through your own club. Away turnstiles and the away ticket office sit on this side of the ground. Coaches are usually directed to the dedicated away coach park next to the Kop.
Opposite you is the Alan Kelly Town End, the traditional home end behind the south goal and named after the club’s record appearance-making goalkeeper. Down the west touchline runs the largest stand, the Sir Tom Finney Stand (7,893), which holds the press box, hospitality and the famous Splash statue outside. Facing it on the east side is the narrower Invincibles Pavilion (3,719), named after the unbeaten 1888–89 Double side. Dugouts and the tunnel sit on that eastern flank. The two goals sit immediately in front of the Kop and the Town End, so from the away seats you look the length of the pitch toward the home singers.
Arrival is straightforward. From the M6 use junction 31, then the A59 and A5085 Blackpool Road; the ground is signed. Stadium car parks are limited and sold in advance (recently around £15). Moor Park, across Sir Tom Finney Way, is a cheaper first-come option. Local schools and clubs often open matchday fields for a few pounds. Preston station is about a 25–30 minute walk or a short bus ride (19 / 19A from the bus station). Leave extra time after a Saturday 3pm kick-off if you need an evening train south.
Pubs tight to the ground lean home. St Gregory’s Catholic Club on Blackpool Road, a five-minute walk from the Kop, usually takes mixed crowds for a small door fee and fills early. The White Hart on Watling Street Road is further out but easier if you have driven. Many travelling fans drink around the station first — The Old Vic, Station Hotel, Hogarths, The Bears Paw, Twelve Tellers — then walk or bus up. Deepdale Retail Park is roughly ten minutes away if you want food rather than a pint (Greggs, Nando’s, Morrisons and the usual chains).
Inside, concourse food is standard football fare plus the local potato and butter pie. Card and cash are both taken at the away kiosks; alcohol is normally on sale unless a fixture is restricted. Toilets are modern. Bags are searched, pyrotechnics mean a long ban, and you should carry ID if you hold a concession ticket. Views from the Kop are among the clearer away ends in the Championship: a steep, unbroken bank looking straight at the Town End goal. Get in early, pick a seat a few rows up rather than on the very front rail if you want the full pitch in one glance, and you will have a proper old English ground without the pillars of the Victorian era.