The Lancashire outfit have been out of the top flight since 1961, but have featured regularly in the Championship promotion picture and last term made the play-off semi-finals. Their success in punching above their weight has won them plenty of admirers.
Lonergan said: "At Preston we are always expected to do well and most years we have been up there.
"To say we overachieve is doing a bit of a disservice to the players and the management, we have got some good players.
"We haven't got a big squad and we don't spend a lot of money, which might suggest that we are overachieving, but I don't think we are."
Source: Team_Talk