Preston North End manager Simon Grayson is determined to ensure that the end of the season finishes on a positive with four games to go.
The Lilywhites entertain former manager Alan Irvine and his Norwich City side at Deepdale on Easter Monday and the current North End boss wants his team to continue their excellent home form of 2017.
“Before Friday we said we want to win as many of the remaining games as possible and people saw that it wasn’t a team that had given up the ghost of the season and were happy to get their flip flops on and I demand that, as do our supporters,” he told PNE PlayerHD.
“Our players have a really good attitude and are very good professionals and will again on Monday. We keep reiterating that we want to finish better than our 11th place from last season, because it’s what the players deserve from their efforts this season.”
The opposition started the season in fine form, but like many teams in the Championship have found consistency hard to find, but still come to Deepdale with a talented squad of Premier League experienced players.
“It will have been a frustrating season for everyone connected with Norwich City,” continued Simon. “When you looked at them at the start of the season, they were very impressive, top of the division, and they looked like they were going to be one of the teams for automatic promotion. Then they went through a spell where they lost six on the trot, or something like that and since then it has been up and down all the way through.
“I went to see them at Huddersfield last week and they stayed in the game, but they lost 3-0 and from that you couldn’t see how they scored seven against Reading, but they have got some good players, some Premiership players who can hurt you.
“We have to look to keep our home form going, play with an intensity and go and do what is required to take the three points.”
There has to be changes for the Lilywhites with the PNE gaffer without skipper Tom Clarke and the suspended Ben Pearson, who joins Alex Baptiste ruled out, but he is expecting others to step up to the plate.
“Tom Clarke is undergoing a scan, Alex Baptiste is still out and Ben Pearson starts a three match ban, so the squad is getting a bit thinner, but that is part and parcel of this stage of the season.
“Players who have not been in the squad will come into the squad and it will give some an opportunity to come into the team and that’s what we are all about; whenever a player has come into the team they have never let us down and given everything for the situation. We will set out a team to return to winning ways.
“Andy Boyle has been very unlucky not to be involved and Tommy Spurr has been involved in the last few games because of the flexibility of the formations e have used, so whoever comes in will perform to the best of their ability,” he added.
“Before Friday we said we want to win as many of the remaining games as possible and people saw that it wasn’t a team that had given up the ghost of the season and were happy to get their flip flops on and I demand that, as do our supporters,” he told PNE PlayerHD.
“Our players have a really good attitude and are very good professionals and will again on Monday. We keep reiterating that we want to finish better than our 11th place from last season, because it’s what the players deserve from their efforts this season.”
The opposition started the season in fine form, but like many teams in the Championship have found consistency hard to find, but still come to Deepdale with a talented squad of Premier League experienced players.
“It will have been a frustrating season for everyone connected with Norwich City,” continued Simon. “When you looked at them at the start of the season, they were very impressive, top of the division, and they looked like they were going to be one of the teams for automatic promotion. Then they went through a spell where they lost six on the trot, or something like that and since then it has been up and down all the way through.
“I went to see them at Huddersfield last week and they stayed in the game, but they lost 3-0 and from that you couldn’t see how they scored seven against Reading, but they have got some good players, some Premiership players who can hurt you.
“We have to look to keep our home form going, play with an intensity and go and do what is required to take the three points.”
There has to be changes for the Lilywhites with the PNE gaffer without skipper Tom Clarke and the suspended Ben Pearson, who joins Alex Baptiste ruled out, but he is expecting others to step up to the plate.
“Tom Clarke is undergoing a scan, Alex Baptiste is still out and Ben Pearson starts a three match ban, so the squad is getting a bit thinner, but that is part and parcel of this stage of the season.
“Players who have not been in the squad will come into the squad and it will give some an opportunity to come into the team and that’s what we are all about; whenever a player has come into the team they have never let us down and given everything for the situation. We will set out a team to return to winning ways.
“Andy Boyle has been very unlucky not to be involved and Tommy Spurr has been involved in the last few games because of the flexibility of the formations e have used, so whoever comes in will perform to the best of their ability,” he added.