Manager Simon Grayson is determined that the side will not go out with a whimper after their defeat at Crawley in their penultimate game.
The PNE boss felt his side did enough in the second half to earn a point on their first trip to the Broadfield Stadium and now wants to go to Sheffield United and end the season on a high.
“We said to the players, ‘don’t go down with a whimper’,” said Grayson. “We want to make sure that we give it all, because it is a long way for our supporters to come down here, but we started the game poorly, allowed them to dictate for the first 15 minutes and they popped it around well.
“We were a little bit lethargic and we didn’t press them enough. But for all the possession they had, they didn’t worry us too many times.
“At half-time we told the players they had to be more energetic and lively and we dominated the game after the break and should have got something out of it.”
After the interval the Lilywhites came to life and the gaffer was disappointed not to earn a point: “In the first half they were passing it around and causing us problems and in the second half, but in the second half we forced them to go long and give us the ball back and we did everything but score.
“The keeper made a good save from Jack, he hit the bar and Nicky Wroe felt he should have had a penalty and we did everything but score. It looked like Nicky was pulled back and he is adamant he was pulled back, otherwise why would he have gone down.
“It is disappointing, but we have to get ready for a big game at the weekend, win that game and make sure we end the season with a victory. It won’t be easy but we’ll be giving it everything.
“The positives were that they took on board at half-time what we said to them. We passed the ball purposefully and forced them to pump the ball long.”