Manager Simon Grayson spoke ahead of the visit of Crewe Alexandra to Deepdale and said his players would not be getting complacent.
The Lilywhites reaffirmed their top two spot with a convincing victory over MK Dons at stadiumMK last Saturday, but now face the Railwaymen in the first of what many will see as 12 cup finals.
The North End gaffer agreed that every game is of equal importance between now and the end of the season, but despite their excellent win on the road last weekend his team still have room for improvement.
“As a manager you are always looking to improve and we certainly won’t get complacent and think we have achieved anything, because we haven’t,” said the PNE chief. “We are far from securing the place we want to be.
“If with a game to go with a four points clear in an automatic promotion place then we can relax a little bit, but we have to improve every game and our work-rate has to be at the same level each and every game.
“As soon as we finished the game last Saturday we said to the players that the Crewe game would be of more significance than the MK Dons game, because if the expectancy of where we have got to in the division.
“We have to make sure we are prepared as thoroughly as we can be.”
The visitors were seven points clear of safety back in November, with just 16 points from 20 plus games, but 26 points from their last 15 games has lifted them well clear of the drop zone and just eight points from a Play-Off place.
And with a decent recent record against North End the 45-year-old is well aware of the test Steve Davis’ side will pose.
“Crewe have had a good run of results since the turn of the year,” he continued. “They have brought in one or two players who have a little bit more experience. Tate has a lot of experience and Ajose had played at a good level and we are aware of their threats.
“We need to focus on what we need to do; we have to get at them early on and play our own game.
“They will make it difficult for us to break down; as all the teams do who come to Deepdale, but we have to be clever in our play, show good intensity and build on the games we have had recently.”
Twelve games; 36 points; seven weeks – that’s what is left of the 2014/15 season and the manager is happy for everyone to hype up each game as it comes along, with every one being bigger than its predecessor.
“Every game between now and the end of the season is the biggest game of the season – without a shadow of a doubt.
“We can’t plan ahead. There is no point looking ahead to any other game other than the next one because you come unstuck if you do that.
“We are focused on the next one – this week, because we’ve had a free week, hasn’t been a jolly up for the players, they worked really hard on Tuesday and we have kept ramming down their throats what they need to do at the weekend and then we will move onto Tuesday.
“We have worked hard to get to where we are at this moment in time, but now we have to work even harder to sustain that and stay where we are,” he added.
The North End gaffer agreed that every game is of equal importance between now and the end of the season, but despite their excellent win on the road last weekend his team still have room for improvement.
“As a manager you are always looking to improve and we certainly won’t get complacent and think we have achieved anything, because we haven’t,” said the PNE chief. “We are far from securing the place we want to be.
“If with a game to go with a four points clear in an automatic promotion place then we can relax a little bit, but we have to improve every game and our work-rate has to be at the same level each and every game.
“As soon as we finished the game last Saturday we said to the players that the Crewe game would be of more significance than the MK Dons game, because if the expectancy of where we have got to in the division.
“We have to make sure we are prepared as thoroughly as we can be.”
The visitors were seven points clear of safety back in November, with just 16 points from 20 plus games, but 26 points from their last 15 games has lifted them well clear of the drop zone and just eight points from a Play-Off place.
And with a decent recent record against North End the 45-year-old is well aware of the test Steve Davis’ side will pose.
“Crewe have had a good run of results since the turn of the year,” he continued. “They have brought in one or two players who have a little bit more experience. Tate has a lot of experience and Ajose had played at a good level and we are aware of their threats.
“We need to focus on what we need to do; we have to get at them early on and play our own game.
“They will make it difficult for us to break down; as all the teams do who come to Deepdale, but we have to be clever in our play, show good intensity and build on the games we have had recently.”
Twelve games; 36 points; seven weeks – that’s what is left of the 2014/15 season and the manager is happy for everyone to hype up each game as it comes along, with every one being bigger than its predecessor.
“Every game between now and the end of the season is the biggest game of the season – without a shadow of a doubt.
“We can’t plan ahead. There is no point looking ahead to any other game other than the next one because you come unstuck if you do that.
“We are focused on the next one – this week, because we’ve had a free week, hasn’t been a jolly up for the players, they worked really hard on Tuesday and we have kept ramming down their throats what they need to do at the weekend and then we will move onto Tuesday.
“We have worked hard to get to where we are at this moment in time, but now we have to work even harder to sustain that and stay where we are,” he added.