Manager Darren Ferguson and his number two Kevin Russell met a randomly selected group of season ticket holders on Wednesday night. We have the questions and answers for all supporters to read below… we have cut the questions down to the main point, but kept the answers as they were given on the night. We have split this into two stories, due to the length.

Click here to read Part One

Cont...

You have added some youthful players to the squad, is there still a place for the more experienced players, including Barry Nicholson, who has been sidelined?
DF: Barry won't be available to maybe some time next month, but he is very much in our plans. We like him as a footballer, he is a really good footballer and he fits in to how we want to play. He is a great professional and has been brilliant around the place. Stephen Elliott is one of five strikers at the moment and he needs to get games. He hasn't played that many games since he came in the building, but as a manager it is a dangerous thing to say a player is not in your plans, because you don't know what injuries you are going to get and someone could be on the bench and come off and get a goal, so no-one is not in my plans, but players may have to go out and get games for the benefit of them. But Barry has been spot on; we have always liked him as a player - coincidentally his injury was against Peterborough, it was a nasty one right in front of the dugouts - but we are taking out time with him, we don't want to rush it, but he is very much part of our plans.

May any of the loan players become permanent players?
KR: George Boyd looks cheap now!
DF: Welbeck no. This is the first time Matt James has come out on loan and if he carries on like last night we'd be happy and if he did well we might ask to see if there is a possibility of taking him on a season long loan. A lot of the young lads at United fall a little bit short, because of the Club it is, but Danny is out of our league in terms of money and United see him as a first team squad regular pretty soon.

It is nice to see some of the young players promoted to the first team squad, do you see the future of this club as these players?
DF: There has to be a future in. The way the world and football are financially are, you have to have players coming free. I am sure everyone would agree, you want to see local lads coming through and playing in the first team. I think that side of the Club is really healthy. We have Danny Mayor and Adam Barton, young Conor has just signed a contract and George Miller the youth team captain have all trained with the first team and it is not a problem. Adam and Danny do it every day, they are part of the squad. The youth team did really well in the youth cup and I thought they were unfortunate not to get a result against Everton. We went to watch them in Sunderland and I thought they were the better team. The first thing I said to the chairman was 'we have to get players through at this club', it's imperative. Football now you can't go out and spend £3m, £4m on players, so you have to get the young players through. You have to trust them, give them that belief and the most important thing is the right time to put them in. You'd like to think that if we can get on a bit of a winning run then there will be an opportunity to stick them in there. When the confidence is a little bit fragile you have to look after them as well. But they are a big part of it. We have been really impressed by them and the age is irrelevant. If it is the right time and they are good enough, they will be in the team.

With Sean St. Ledger returning from Middlesbrough why did the Club go through with the signing of Neill Collins?
DF: The deal was already signed before I joined the Club so that is not a question for me.

You brought four players through and promoted some players from YTS terms, you also retained St. Ledger, are you under any pressure to sell?
DF: As a manager you have to understand how the business side of the Club is run and we have brought four players in. Obviously we were expecting £4.5m for Ledge, which didn't come, but I am not under pressure to get rid of players and we have not had much interest in our players anyway. At the moment we have to analyse the squad and make our minds up, which we have about a few, and when the time's right, then possibly they will move on, but you have to be careful and the time has to be right. I am not getting the chairman ringing me up saying 'he has to go', but if I was to release some names tomorrow then I am sure some clubs would show an interest, but I'm not under a massive amount of pressure to do that.

Is there any chance of any further loanees from Old Trafford?
DF: No. Not at the moment.
KR: Rooney is playing at the moment isn't he?!
DF: Danny is one we identified when we knew we needed pace up top and penetration. Matty James has been an area of the pitch we felt we needed one in as the games have gone on, as well as Coutts.

Do you still see Neal Trotman as a long term part of the future of the Club?
DF: Yes, we do.
KR: When we first came in he did really well training-wise, but it was the right time and a decent club for him to go to on loan, get a few games under his belt. He's a defender, he puts his head in there and he is strong at both ends and he is young. He looks like he has a bit of hunger about him, he is aggressive and the type of player that we want. It was a good move to go to Huddersfield to get games, but he definitely has a future at the club.
DF: He is definitely in our plans, but he needs games. As Kev says, we wouldn't have sent him out anywhere, but Huddersfield is a good club, they will be challenging for the Play-Offs and it will be a good experience for him.

In a few games recently we haven't had anyone at the near post, is that something that concerns you?
DF: Massively! We have lost six set pieces recently. When we came in we thought we were a big side and I don't know for what reason, but we have conceded sloppy goals from set pieces, two in the first game and four more since then. We do a lot of work on set pieces and players get told who they are picking up; we put it on the board and on sheets on the wall. We did a good spell on it on Monday, up against the youth team players and on Tuesday I felt we dealt with them a lot better. It was an area we were concerned about, and it wasn't something when I first came in I thought we would have too many concerns about.
[A discussion was had about how we mark in the box, we are not publishing this as it is very descriptive for an opposition club reading].
KR: Ultimately, if we give people certain jobs to do then they have to do them.

With the derby this weekend, do you treat it any differently?
DF: I think you have to. Not in terms of how you do it tactically or in training, but the players have to be made aware of how important it is. Everyone wants to see you play well, but no one cares about how we play on Saturday if we win. All you have to do in derbies is win, simple as that. The players would have to be really stupid if they didn't understand how important it is on Saturday, and they do. I don't think I'll have to give much of a team talk on Saturday, I shouldn't have to anyway. We just have to go out there and win and get the bragging rights. We know it's a big, big one.

Can you tell us about the use of ice baths?
DF: It is not a punishment! It makes you recover quickly after the game. It is a big part of the recovery. It has been around for years and scientific facts show it helps.
KR: It is painful, but it does the job! Ninety-five per cent of teams use them, they are quite common now. Six pints of lager after a game has finished now!

What does your dad make of it so far?
DF: He came to the Barnsley game and said 'you've got one hell of a job on there'! Then after Tuesday night he was really pleased. In my first Peterborough game he came to we got beaten, so he said 'I'm going to come to your second' and it worked, but football's a funny game. Tuesday was chalk and cheese compared to the Barnsley game and we were at it and if we get that every game we will be competitive. He was pleased, as any father would be. He was a bit panicky at the end, as we all were, but he enjoyed it.

Danny Welbeck seemed to get a knock near the end of Tuesday, is he okay?
DF: Yes he's fine. He came in yesterday for his recovery bit and he has no problems.

You have a midfield now that make a big difference.
DF: Since I arrived I have said we have a good squad. We have a good bunch of lads, but there are always areas you want to improve and we identified straight away that that we needed a bit more pace and mobility in the middle of the park. That doesn't mean the players who were in there are out of the building, but two new players are here and there is competition for places.

In the past few months we seemed to have picked a team to negate the opposition rather than think about our strengths, how do you do about picking your team?
DF: Our philosophy is to impose ourselves on the opposition. You can talk too much about the opposition and you can talk about them all you want, but if you don't get it right in your team, then that has nothing to do with the opposition. You have to be positive and focus on our strengths. We have to give a performance and we have enough confidence in the players and ourselves that if we give a performance, we will give anyone a game. Everyone is different. We like to pick a team as early as we can and work on what we are good at. You have to touch on the opposition, you'd be stupid not to, but in the Championship anyone can beat anyone and we have to make sure we get the best out of our team and concentrate on what we can do.
KR: You find in this league that if you have six or seven players at it you have a chance, but if you are carrying six or seven you have absolutely no chance and you'll get turned over. Every single game in this league you have to play as if it's your last game, you have to scrap for everything.

We seem to have been left standing in a straight run in a past, have you identified that?
KR: That's why we have brought a couple in. A squad needs pace and the fitness coach who has come in also does a lot of speed drills and we try and quicken them up, but you have to identify players with pace, because if you haven't got it, you are going to struggle.

Have we got more than Callum Davidson as a left-sided full back?
DF: As a natural left back no. It is something we've looked at and it has to be addressed, you can't have one left back at a football club. It is unbalanced and it is something we'll address in the summer. You lose a balance in your team and it is something we will hopefully address in the summer.

You have said there are not enough talkers at the Club, how have you addressed that?
DF: It was a bit of a surprise, as there are quite a few experienced players. It's not necessarily a quiet dressing room, but quiet on the pitch in terms of passing on information. It comes natural to some people and it can be the same in any walk of life. It is not a natural thing for the players here and you just have to improve it by keeping encouraging the players. You don't have to shout your head off, just communicate. Youl talks and organise and it is a big part of the game, as we get more confidence we might get a bit lounder too.

Long term, when Danny Welbeck goes back, do you have in mind how you will find pace up front?
DF: He is going to go back, but we just have to identify a player who has pace to come in. I have been quite happy with the strikers we've got, but we felt we needed to make sure we are not one dimensional. Teams will be worried about Danny's pace and therefore we have to look at bringing someone in on a permanent basis who has a bit of pace.

In the past we seem to have lost some very good players just when we could have pushed on, will you be forced to do the same?
DF: I think one player who has never been replaced is Paul McKenna, for what he brings to the table and the type of player he is. He came through the ranks as well and that has its advantages. But if we are in a position where we are going for it and we have a chance and a bid came in for a player - don't get me wrong if they are bidding £8m, £9m for a player you have to look at it - but if it is like a Ledge situation when they are bidding £2m for a player who is worth at least double that, then it isn't going to happen. I was adamant that it wasn't going to happen at £3.5m and just coming in the club I have a strong position on that. No club wants to see their best players sold, especially when you feel you still have a chance of achieving something, which I think we do this season, so I was quite adamant Sean wasn't going anywhere. Of course it is a catch 22, do you not sell them and then not end up getting in the Premiership and then financially do the club struggle? You have to protect the football club. Players will come and go, but there will always be a Preston North End. Look at Portsmouth; they could go bust and it will happen to a big team soon, because clubs are not run how a business should be run. Derek runs the business of the football club accordingly and the bottom line is that there has to be a Preston North End. You can go and buy players for £5m and if you don't get promoted you go bust, so you have to be logical about it. If you are up there and you have a chance, you have to keep your best players. This club is steeped with tradition and that is one of the things that attracted me to the club and our job is to get us in the top flight again and we will give it our best.

What's the situation with Veliche Shumulikoski?
DF: He is available for selection.

What was the defining factor in choosing Preston over other clubs?
DF: The biggest thing for us was the general feel and tradition of Preston. I feel they have always given their managers a chance. I looked at the squad and felt it was a decent squad and it was the best opportunity for us of where we want to work, and that is in the Premiership. I spoke to Sheffield Wednesday as well, but for me it was always going to be Preston.