Manager Simon Grayson is not interested in anything other than progress to the next round of the Emirates FA Cup at Peterborough this weekend.
The Lilywhites face a Posh side managed by Simon’s predecessor Graham Westley, but the manager is only focused on his side and not any additional interest in the game.
“It’s a tough game for us,” he said. “People will look at the history, with the previous manager in charge at Peterborough, but that has nothing to do with me. For me it is all about us trying to progress into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
“There is no easy tie, no matter who you play, but our focus has always been to try and win as many games as possible and to progress in the FA Cup. Last year we got drawn against Manchester United at home and that was a great night for everybody connected with the Club.
“This year we have come in at the third round stage, rather than the first round, but we know we are in for a tough game.
“If you look at the stats, Peterborough have had a good season so far. They are in the top six in League One and are one of the highest goalscorers in the division.
“We have watched them a number of times since the draw was made and they are a very attack-minded team and their philosophy is that they would rather win a game 6-4, than 1-0.
“A lot of the comparisons are they play a little bit like Swindon did last season. They play a lot of football, a little bit high risk, but we know as much about them as we have done any other team we play this year and they have the utmost respect from us, but we have players on our books who can hurt them as well.”
The North End boss admitted that the match man be one that supporters had more interest in when the tie was drawn, but he feels it would have been a tough tie whoever came out of the hat.
“I am sure this game means more to the fans than it does to me,” continued the gaffer. “For me it is only about Preston North End progressing to the third round of the FA Cup and no matter who we would have played, that would have been the same, so nothing changes.
“We have a big week ahead of us, but we will look to pick a team that will win the tie for us. We have to strike a balance of keeping the continuity going of the team that has been doing well and also looking after those who have been suffering with knocks.
“We haven’t got a huge squad, so we won’t be making seven or eight changes, but given injuries and the week we have coming up we might make one or two changes, but we want to keep the momentum we have been gathering over the past few weeks.”
Last season saw the Lilywhites reach the fifth round stage, losing to Manchester United at Deepdale in front of a live BBC1 audience and the manager feels that like 2015, a good cup run could inspire his side once again.
“This is the most important game to us, because this is the next game. I want to win every game. I don’t change the team or make wholesale changes because there are important games coming up, I pick a team to be successful in every competition we are involved in.
“If you look back to last season, the catalyst for us was winning the fourth round replay at Sheffield United – it turned our season around.
“We had a difficult January in the league, but we went to Bramall Lane and won, got the game against Manchester United and our league form rally picked up from there and that’s what a cup win can do.
“You can gather momentum with results in the FA Cup and it can give you confidence going into the remainder of the season; so it is the biggest game for us, because it is the next one,” he added.