Joe Garner labelled North End’s hard fought 1-0 victory over Notts County at Meadow Lane a ‘great result’.
The only goal of the match came courtesy of Iain Hume, who was brought on by Simon Grayson as a second half substitute, alongside Garner.
The triumph ensured Preston rounded off a successful week with seven points, after a win against Gillingham last weekend and a mid-week draw with Bradford at Deepdale.
“It’s a great result, seven points from three games, I think you’d take that, especially with two away games,” Garner told PNE.Com in an exclusive interview following the match.
“I think it was a tough game, I think they’ve won their last three or four and they’re not a bad side really.
“They try and play a little when they can but I think we’ve got to the quality in our squad to come and get results anywhere in this league.”
The introduction of both Hume and Garner proved a masterstroke by Grayson, as the duo brought a new dynamism to North End’s front-line and caused numerous problems for a makeshift Notts County defence.
“The lads worked very hard first half and me and Humey came on and we were both fresh,” Garner said.
“We thought we could get a result by getting in and about the centre halves and that’s what happened.”
He then added: “We’ve had a few away games and got six points from two away games, which is fantastic.
“The gaffer’s put a side out today which has grinded them down and me and Humey have come on in the end and Humey’s nicked a goal.”
The 25-year-old went onto praise the squad’s ability to dig deep and get three points after such a tense encounter, in which referee Scott Mathieson brandished five yellow cards.
“It was very tight, it could have gone either way but I think we’ve grinded it out,” he said.
“There are different ways you can win games, obviously free flowing games but today was a battle and we’ve come out on top.”
This season the goals have been shared among the North End squad, from defence to attack, and Garner believes it is a positive thing that the Lilywhites are not simply a one man band.
“It’s very good that we’re getting goals from all over the squad and not just relying on one or two people,” he said.
“I think if we keep playing as we’re playing, grinding results out and playing as we do, we’ll be up there come the end of the season.”