‘I’ve had to tell my mum not to bother with Mother’s Day,” quips Preston fan Tom Bates. The 29-year-old has forgone the purchase of flowers, cards and the prospect of a Sunday roast to buy a ticket at Deepdale for North End’s first FA Cup quarter-final in 59 years.
The past six decades have brought Preston six relegations and promotions, a third and fourth division title and a solitary Lancashire Senior Cup. Since they triumphed in the League One playoff final in 2015 their seasons have been humdrum: they have finished between seventh and 14th each season and this is the first time they have got beyond the fourth round in either cup. It has given supporters such as Bates, who saw his first match when he was two, little to celebrate. The visit of the Champions League side Aston Villa to Lancashire will be one of the biggest days in the club’s recent history, played out in front of a vociferous crowd of 23,400. A tie at Wembley awaits the winners.
“You need these moments,” says the Preston defender Andrew Hughes. “I played at Wembley twice – both for Newport – one we lost and then the next time we beat Wrexham in the playoff final. I’ll remember those days. At Newport, they’re my standout memories. It’d be nice, when I am finished with football, to look back on some memories here at Preston and hopefully Wembley will be one of them.”
Preston started the latest round of Championship fixtures 14th, 10 points off the playoffs and nine clear of relegation with eight games to play. They have drawn 17 times in what is set to go down as another mundane league campaign. The cups have provided the standout contributions, including a 16-15 penalty shootout Carabao Cup win over Fulham – “It’s still going on, isn’t it?” jokes Hughes – and knocking out local rivals Burnley in the previous round of the FA Cup.
Preston could have a say in the promotion and relegation battles, and fans desperately want to overhaul Blackburn to earn local pride, but the FA Cup will define their season. A year ago they dismally lost their final five matches, stuttering to 10th. “If we do find ourselves in that position again this year, it’s all about personal pride,” says Hughes. “No one wants to go out there and lose a game of football, even if it doesn’t really affect the long run. We put the league to one side for this weekend and it’s purely Cup focus.”
There has been neither feast nor famine for 10 years, more of a one-course meal of Championship gruel. Despite regularly having little to play for in the final months, attendances remain around 16,000 at Deepdale, where in August players and fans believe promotion is on the cards. “I assume we’ll go up every year, I genuinely do,” says Bates, a season-ticket holder. “On the day you get frustrated, you get angry, you get upset when results don’t go in your favour. If you were to reflect on it, you don’t go to the football just for points really. Football is more important than that. It’s the only time of week you get to see your friends and your family. It’s a part of the week that’s just blocked off to go watch football.”
Sunday is a potential pinnacle for Preston’s players, the majority of whom will not get another chance to reach a Wembley semi-final. Hughes, who turns 33 in June, realises it is now or never for him. He says the final thoughts before the match will be: “Just give it my all, no regrets. And just walk off that pitch knowing I’ve left everything out there.”
Preston’s players and supporters will need to work in tandem to shock a team with half an eye on facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals. “When you’re playing and you can hear the fans bouncing and they’re behind you, whether it’s come from a spark from the player, whether it’s a tackle or a good ball or anything, it gives you an extra boost,” says Hughes. “We’re going to need that on Sunday for sure. We need a lot of noise and that the atmosphere is rocking.”
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There is one only team in Preston and the fanbase is loyal but the lack of success makes it easy for young eyes to wander over to more successful clubs. Anfield is only 35 miles away and Liverpool shirts are plentiful in the city centre. Sunday will be a timely reminder to locals who do not support North End of what is on their doorstep.
Preston have twice won the FA Cup, in 1889 and 1938. The latest chapter for the history books will note they are the only non-Premier League team in the final eight, offering something to boast about in Football League circles. In a sport dominated by the higher echelons of the Premier League, Paul Heckingbottom’s side are representing the also-rans.
“What’s the point in being a football fan if you don’t dare to dream?” asks Bates. “I think we’ll be at Wembley this year and I think we’ll go up next year. I might be a bit deluded but I genuinely believe that.” Every fan has the right to dream. This quarter-final offers the chance to make it reality.