Lee Holmes thinks that Preston North End will need to move up the gears in a bid to consolidate their positive start to the season.
The winger was speaking exclusively to PNE.Com ahead of Saturday’s encounter with Swindon Town and thinks that there is a lot more to come from the Lilywhites and Saturday could be the time for them to raise the levels once again.
Holmes said: “We have got a lot of things to learn and improve on, but while we are improving, we are playing well, we are solid and the confidence in the place when you are unbeaten is different from when you are not.
“If we want to be realistic in what we want to do this season, then I think we will have to raise it up a gear or two, so it is great to be in the position that we are in, knowing we have got more in the locker and I think we have got more in the locker, which is nice to know as a changing room that we are in a position where we are in a good state just now, but we can obviously do more.
“The matches last season were thick and fast, the one thing is this year we have got a lot of people looking after us, managing our bodies, recovering right and you can also train for the Saturday to Saturday games intelligently and the gaffer can coach us on the training pitch more than when you have a Tuesday game, in every sense that helps you out.”
The PNE No.11 is well known around the County Ground, having had two spells with the Robins previously, but although there won’t be many recognisable faces to Lee, he is under no illusions about talented their squad of young players is.
He continued: “There is only a few players there that I played with a few years ago.
“The whole Club has changed, owners, everything really.
“They are a different outfit and that’s something we will have to get our heads around to get the result.
“I watched bits of the game the other day against Chelsea and they look like they want to get on the ball, they want to play, so undoubtedly they have got some good young players who have got bright futures in the game.
“From our point of view, they’re another team where we want to pick up points and we see it as they are in the way, so as young as they are, we need to be as experienced as we have been this season and the result will come.”
This Saturday will see the Lilywhites try to make it nine undefeated in the league following their victory at Bramall Lane last weekend and Holmes reckons that results like that could be crucial when the dots are joined come May.
The winger concluded: “At the end of the season, them game will be massive results, you look at them kind of clubs like Sheffield United, massive Club, so to go there, away from home and keep a cleansheet and also to win the game, is massive, so that builds massive confidence in the lads.
“We are not conceding many goals, teams know that it is difficult to play against us, but they also know that we are scoring a lot, so anyone that is playing Preston at the minute will fear of what we’ve got in defence and attack, which is nice to breathe a little fear into other teams.”