Callum Davidson has already had a memorable start to the new season with his recall to the Scotland squad after six years, but he is hoping the start the Lilywhites have made to the new campaign is just the start of an upward spiral for the team. He spoke to PNE.Com ahead of the opening of the new stand and the visit of Neil Warnock's Crystal Palace.
The lads must be delighted with the start you have made to the season?
Yes, definitely. It was a difficult game away at Ipswich; where the attitude was probably as pleasing as the result. It was a tough game against Chesterfield on Tuesday, but again we were very professional. There was maybe one or two things that we didn't do right, but hopefully we'll try and eradicate those from our game and move a further step ahead.
How important was the lads' reaction to going behind at Ipswich?
I personally think it was a massive thing for our season. I think that if we had gone one-nil down and the heads had dropped and we had got beaten then it could have been a long hard season again, but to come back from that then we can start to think 'maybe we can beat anybody'. Ipswich only lost one game at home in the whole of last season, so for us to do that in the first game of the season can only be a massive boost of confidence for everybody in the squad and the team.
A common phrase in football is that 'winning's a habit' and you have got into that habit straight away.
Yes, that's right. I think if you go on a losing run it becomes harder and harder to win, but the lads have started with two wins and that is a boost to confidence and gives you a little bit of belief going into games. There are teams in this division who have spent a lot of money, have a lot of money and spend a lot of money on players; Preston aren't on of those but we are team who sticks together. We have a good squad and this gives us that little bit of an extra belief that we can compete with these guys, if not beat them.
The manager has said how hard it has been to select the starting line-up and it seems that everyone is working hard and fighting to get into the team.
I think it has been really difficult for the manager to pick the team. There are probably 18 or 19 players who could play for Preston at the moment and the team wouldn't really change as a whole. It is good for the manager to have this situation in the respect that I know if I don't play well then I won't be in the team and it will be hard for me to get back into the side. Performances have to be at a level that I think are good enough for the manager and it is probably like that for seven or eight positions in the team. On the downside of that he has a number of players he has to keep happy, but I'm sure he'd rather have that headache than the other one.
With the results at the end of last season and the good pre-season expectancy levels amongst supporters have risen, but for the players has it been more about setting yourself higher standards that you have to live up to?
Yes I think that's right. The fans have expectations and expect us to be up there challenging. For us it is the case that if we can keep improving every week, in every game, adding that little five per cent on to our game then we are going to become a better team and a better squad. If we get the results then we will get better for that. We set targets at the start of the season; we want to definitely be in the top half of the table, but if we end up working hard and doing well then you never know what can happen.
How much have the lads talked about, or been looking forward to the first game with all four stands open?
As soon as you run out of the tunnel now the stadium looks fantastic and the lads have all talked about it. The work that has been done to complete the stadium is excellent. It is a really good stadium now and it is an honour to play there. The stadium is complete now, the pitch is fantastic and it is a really good place to come and play football.
Is the Club is a better state now than when you first joined?
Without a doubt. The improvements have been massive since I first arrived. It ill now help attract good players to the club. As I said, we're not the biggest hitters in the League, but if you look at the stadium we've got, the facilities and the training pitches which have now come up to a standard with the best of them, so in a couple of months time we will have a fantastic club and it can only benefit Preston, benefit the manager, benefit the team and the fans in the long run.
Finally, moving on to the game itself. There's a bit of a party for everyone connected with the Club due to the opening, but Neil Warnock would love to come and spoil the day.
They have got their own unique system and we've looked at that today. They are a good team, with a lot of really good, exciting players, so it is going to be a really tough game. If we are not at it and on top of things from the start then they could make it very difficult. Neil is the sort of guy who would to come and spoil what is going on, but we owe him a couple of times for last season. We've got that in the back of our minds, so we'll be making sure we try to do that.
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