Andrew Hughes said it’s “pointless” looking past the next game, as North End ready themselves for a trip to face fellow Play-Off hopefuls Millwall this weekend.
After picking up three consecutive victories, PNE find themselves level on points with Saturday’s hosts, who currently sit fifth in the table.
With just five games left this season, the Lilywhites have some big games coming up, but Hughesy is not looking past Saturday for the time being.
“It’s pointless looking too far ahead,” he said. “We’ve just got to deal with the game we’ve got coming up, Millwall.
“Hopefully we can get three points and we’ll look at Swansea then.
“It’s the business end of the season so it’s a good time to be in form and hopefully it can continue.
“That’s the way the league goes. If you find yourselves putting a run of games together, especially if you win them, you can end up jumping up a few places.
“So we’ve put ourselves in a good position and hopefully we can have an interesting end to the season.”
Since the international break, North End have taken three points from each of Blackpool, QPR and Reading - all teams threatened by relegation.
However, it’s the games against the likes of Millwall, and the upcoming clashes against Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United which could ultimately define the season.
Hughesy said: “We’re not stupid, we know we’ve got some tough games coming up.
“We’ve got Blackburn who are obviously in the Play-Offs and Sheffield United, so these are the games we need to be winning.
“I think we’ve all got enough belief now. Our away record speaks for itself at the minute so we’re going to go there full of confidence and we’ll take the game to them.”
Millwall have been a good opponent for Hughesy over the years, having scored three times against the Lions.
One of those came in a 3-1 victory in the 2018/19 season when North End raced into a three-goal lead in the first half.
“I remember it well,” he said. “I don’t score many goals so the games where I do score I remember well!
“It was a great day. I’ve seen it’s a sell-out for the upcoming fixture so I know the fans will be in full voice there and hopefully we can put on a show for them.”