Championship club Preston North End announced two deadline day signings during their home match against Bristol City on Tuesday, only for the team to concede two late goals and lose the game.
Paul Heckingbottom's side has lost all four of its league matches this season, leading to fan concerns about a potential relegation battle. The club had the opportunity to secure its first win of the campaign against Bristol City at Deepdale.
The club revealed the signings of Johnny Kenny from Celtic and Liam Gibbs on loan from Norwich City by displaying a message on the big screen in the 70th minute, when the score was tied 1-1. The message read: "Breaking news: During the game we are pleased to announce we have signed two new players!"
Nine minutes later, Lisav Eissat scored for the visiting Bristol City, and Dom Ballard added a third goal just before full-time, securing a 3-1 victory for the away side.
Fans expressed their dissatisfaction by booing the team off the pitch at the final whistle. Criticism also appeared on social media regarding the timing of the announcement during the match.
Heckingbottom, who stated he was unaware the announcement would occur during the game, acknowledged the importance of securing the new players. "Johnny would have been watching that today, licking his lips I'm sure," he said. "Really important, good business for the club. Young player again, we try to recruit young players."
He added, "Our new signings so far have shown up well but we want more and more importantly we want the result. They will be straight involved. You can see, there's a necessity. Each game we've played we've added a player or added two players and it's been important, but the window's closed now. We've done our business and we've got the group together finally."