Heckingbottom and beige Preston's attempts to bore visitors rigid crumble like pastry

The man behind the counter at Greggs on Fishergate has never heard of a butter pie, but try Poundbakery over the street.

- Jonathan Liew

The man behind the counter at Greggs on Fishergate has never heard of a butter pie, but try Poundbakery over the street. Poundbakery doesn't do butter pie, but try Greenhalgh's on the corner. Greenhalgh's: closed on Sundays. The chip shop on Market Street does meat pie, meat and potato, steak, steak and kidney, chicken and mushroom, cheese and onion. Butter pie? A shake of the head.

You've got to try the butter pie. That's what everyone says the first time you visit Preston. It was created in industrial times, for the largely Catholic working population to eat on Fridays when meat was forbidden. Often you hear it described as a "delicacy", but even this is to overstate its intensely yeoman nature. It's layers of potatoes, onions and butter in a pie. It's cheap. It's hearty. It's unpretentious. It exists to be consumed and then immediately forgotten. It is - with deepest apologies - the very embodiment of Preston North End in comestible form.

Are Preston really the most boring club in the Football League, as a fan group dubbed them earlier this season? Let's examine the evidence. Nine consecutive seasons of mid-table finishes: tick. Drawn 45% of their league games this season: tick. Sponsored by a local rubber company: tick. Managed by Paul Heckingbottom: tick. Signature snack entirely comprising yellow and beige foodstuffs: tick.