Following Preston North End’s victory in the first round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, Glynn Snodin has pointed to the eagerness of each and every member of the squad to attain a Lilywhite shirt
Simon Grayson made a total of eight changes to the side that drew against Sheffield United last weekend with many playing 90 minutes for the first time this season.
But those changes in personnel didn’t tell with North End claiming a 1-0 victory over Shrewsbury to march on into the second round of the JPT.
It’s been a real tug of war for starting places at North End recently such is the quality throughout the squad and this was emphasised by the PNE assistant manager who declared “It’s a fantastic eleven no matter who you put in.
“They're all ready to play, and they all want that shirt - the lads who are in the 11 already know that they’ve got to play well every week to keep that shirt, because there’s someone over their shoulder waiting to come in.
“The likes of Paul Huntington and Dave Buchanan haven’t featured much lately, so 90 minutes is exactly what they needed, because the longer it goes on that they’re not getting games, when you ask them to come in as soon as someone gets suspended or injured they’re not as sharp, so it’s nice we’ve got this competition, and we hope we can progress even further in it.
“We just want to win every game we can, and we want to go to Wembley – in your career there are few opportunities to play at the home of England, so why not?”
As well as progressing into the next round of the cup, there were more reasons for North End fans to leave with smiles on their faces this evening.
That being the eagerly anticipated sight of new signing Kyel Reid in a white shirt for the first time after almost eight months out with a cruciate ligament injury.
Reid came off the bench to a rousing reception to those that were in attendance for the tie to play the final 20 minutes.
To add to the glee, youngster Jordan Hugill also got his goal scoring account at Deepdale up and running with a sliding finish which proved to be the decisive winner.
“It’s been a bad one for Kyel, and a long-winded road to recovery for him,” continued the PNE number two.
“It’s been a long time coming and he’ll have loved to have finally got on that pitch.
“He’s taken his chance well [Jordan Hugill] he’s learning in training every day, and every week so hopefully we can bring a player out of him.
"His match-fitness will get better and we'll get his body shape better so hopefully in three months time we'll see even more of him.
"He works hard, he takes a battering and he runs through the channels and I thought he did that well tonight."
But those changes in personnel didn’t tell with North End claiming a 1-0 victory over Shrewsbury to march on into the second round of the JPT.
It’s been a real tug of war for starting places at North End recently such is the quality throughout the squad and this was emphasised by the PNE assistant manager who declared “It’s a fantastic eleven no matter who you put in.
“They're all ready to play, and they all want that shirt - the lads who are in the 11 already know that they’ve got to play well every week to keep that shirt, because there’s someone over their shoulder waiting to come in.
“The likes of Paul Huntington and Dave Buchanan haven’t featured much lately, so 90 minutes is exactly what they needed, because the longer it goes on that they’re not getting games, when you ask them to come in as soon as someone gets suspended or injured they’re not as sharp, so it’s nice we’ve got this competition, and we hope we can progress even further in it.
“We just want to win every game we can, and we want to go to Wembley – in your career there are few opportunities to play at the home of England, so why not?”
As well as progressing into the next round of the cup, there were more reasons for North End fans to leave with smiles on their faces this evening.
That being the eagerly anticipated sight of new signing Kyel Reid in a white shirt for the first time after almost eight months out with a cruciate ligament injury.
Reid came off the bench to a rousing reception to those that were in attendance for the tie to play the final 20 minutes.
To add to the glee, youngster Jordan Hugill also got his goal scoring account at Deepdale up and running with a sliding finish which proved to be the decisive winner.
“It’s been a bad one for Kyel, and a long-winded road to recovery for him,” continued the PNE number two.
“It’s been a long time coming and he’ll have loved to have finally got on that pitch.
“He’s taken his chance well [Jordan Hugill] he’s learning in training every day, and every week so hopefully we can bring a player out of him.
"His match-fitness will get better and we'll get his body shape better so hopefully in three months time we'll see even more of him.
"He works hard, he takes a battering and he runs through the channels and I thought he did that well tonight."