Goalkeeper Chris Maxwell is looking forward to getting back out at Deepdale on Monday when the Lilywhites face Norwich City.
The PNE custodian reflected on Good Friday’s loss at Huddersfield Town and felt that the team didn’t get the rub of the green.
“I thought it was a good team performance,” he told PNE.Com. “I thought it was a good game and we worked hard, playing against a team who were third in the table and who have a really good record at home and in the first half we went ahead and then we conceded a goal that was my fault, which showed the luck of the day really.
“A goalkeeper can come out for those and nine times out of ten a defender will head it away and you never get punished and then we had the penalty at the end, which I saved, but it fell to their guy and he put it home.
“I don’t think we quite had the rub of the green or the luck that we deserved, because the team performance as a whole and a lot of individual performances as well were top notch, not to mention the shape and organisation we had in the team, which was chalk and cheese from the Leeds game – it was really good in that aspect.
“It has been a good season in terms of penalty saves – not so much in terms of giving away penalties. Me being me, I am a perfectionist and I will always try and iron out the negatives in my performance and try and improve in any way that I can.
“I would rather make a mistake trying to be positive coming from crosses, trying to impact the game, than the other way, that is part and parcel of being a goalkeeper. Every goalkeeper makes mistakes and every human makes mistakes, it is what we do from there on in and whether we learn from them that is the key thing.”
North End are back at home on Monday, where they have been in fine form in 2017 and the No.22 wants this to continue: “We leave it to the media and other people to talk about records and statistics. It is nice to hear every once in a while, but as players we just think about each game.
“The atmosphere and the warm sense of home games has been particularly key in our season.
“Our record at Deepdale is good and that has to be down to the environment we are in and that has to be credit to the fans and the people who create the environment at Deepdale.”
However, he is not quite sure what to expect from the game: “I heard someone say the other day that the Championship is almost like a lottery in terms of who gets promoted and relegated,” he continued.
“Norwich are a tough outfit. It was a tough game when we played them down there and we came away with a brilliant result and a brilliant 1-0 performance down there and we hope to emulate that at home.
“We know that they have top quality players. The majority of them are Premier League players and maybe it has just taken them to adapt to life in the Championship again, but you have seen the quality they have had in some of their results and we have to make sure we are on our ‘A’ game to give the fans what they deserve and really finish the season on a high.”
The loss of skipper Tom Clarke means a change in front of the goalkeeper and he believes he will have to take more responsibility.
“Me as an individual, I like to be very vocal and I like to take part in the organisation of the team, because I believe it is part of the goalkeeper’s job to do that.
“Tom Clarke has been unbelievable for us, he is certainly my player of the season. He is a very good player and a very good person and hopefully he will not be out too long,” he added.
“I thought it was a good team performance,” he told PNE.Com. “I thought it was a good game and we worked hard, playing against a team who were third in the table and who have a really good record at home and in the first half we went ahead and then we conceded a goal that was my fault, which showed the luck of the day really.
“A goalkeeper can come out for those and nine times out of ten a defender will head it away and you never get punished and then we had the penalty at the end, which I saved, but it fell to their guy and he put it home.
“I don’t think we quite had the rub of the green or the luck that we deserved, because the team performance as a whole and a lot of individual performances as well were top notch, not to mention the shape and organisation we had in the team, which was chalk and cheese from the Leeds game – it was really good in that aspect.
“It has been a good season in terms of penalty saves – not so much in terms of giving away penalties. Me being me, I am a perfectionist and I will always try and iron out the negatives in my performance and try and improve in any way that I can.
“I would rather make a mistake trying to be positive coming from crosses, trying to impact the game, than the other way, that is part and parcel of being a goalkeeper. Every goalkeeper makes mistakes and every human makes mistakes, it is what we do from there on in and whether we learn from them that is the key thing.”
North End are back at home on Monday, where they have been in fine form in 2017 and the No.22 wants this to continue: “We leave it to the media and other people to talk about records and statistics. It is nice to hear every once in a while, but as players we just think about each game.
“The atmosphere and the warm sense of home games has been particularly key in our season.
“Our record at Deepdale is good and that has to be down to the environment we are in and that has to be credit to the fans and the people who create the environment at Deepdale.”
However, he is not quite sure what to expect from the game: “I heard someone say the other day that the Championship is almost like a lottery in terms of who gets promoted and relegated,” he continued.
“Norwich are a tough outfit. It was a tough game when we played them down there and we came away with a brilliant result and a brilliant 1-0 performance down there and we hope to emulate that at home.
“We know that they have top quality players. The majority of them are Premier League players and maybe it has just taken them to adapt to life in the Championship again, but you have seen the quality they have had in some of their results and we have to make sure we are on our ‘A’ game to give the fans what they deserve and really finish the season on a high.”
The loss of skipper Tom Clarke means a change in front of the goalkeeper and he believes he will have to take more responsibility.
“Me as an individual, I like to be very vocal and I like to take part in the organisation of the team, because I believe it is part of the goalkeeper’s job to do that.
“Tom Clarke has been unbelievable for us, he is certainly my player of the season. He is a very good player and a very good person and hopefully he will not be out too long,” he added.