North End manager Simon Grayson tells PNE Player he enjoys the traditional Boxing Day fixture in English football and feels there is no better game for it than a Yorkshire/Lancashire derby.
Danny Wilson’s Barnsley will travel to Deepdale on the 26th December and its a fixtures that excites the gaffer, and hopes his side can continue their positive form of late with a victory at home.
“Obviously European teams all have their break but obviously over here, it’s a tradition that we have the game and it’s brilliant to be fair. As a player I used to look forward to it, the supporters do, gets them out of the house and get a bit of fresh air into them after a lot of food and drink and no better game than a Yorkshire/Lancashire derby game.
"So we are looking forward to it, obviously we are pleased with how the result went against Peterborough, we carry on with the rest of the fixtures over the festive period and get some positive results.
“We responded well to when we had the defeats, we’ve just got to be level headed and be consistent in our approach to games and what we do. I think the credit goes to the players that have worked extremely hard and they’ve defended when they’ve had to defend and stuck together as units as well.
"We‘ve had some difficult games, difficult away trips, so pleased with how it’s going but we’re really only at the half way stage now, but obviously there are a lot of positives to take into the second half of the season.”
To hear more from the gaffer on what he expects from the game, head to PNE Player for the full interview.