Stoke City's recently appointed manager Nathan Jones is ready to make tough decisions as he finalises his team to face the Lilywhites at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday.
The Potters boss led his side to an impressive home win over league leaders Leeds United this weekend and says that his preparations to face Alex Neil's side have been identical.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the former Luton Town chief said: "It’s exactly the same preparation for this week as last. We’ve had a few more days with them and it’s a vitally important game.
"We know if we’re not at our best we won’t get anything from it.
"If tough decisions need to be made, we will make those, but we also like continuity. It’s sometimes natural to go with the same again, but we have a strong squad.
"We played a certain way last week for certain reasons, the system might change... the personnel might change."
City started the season as clear favourites for promotion back to the Premier League and the win over Marcelo Bielsa's promotion chasers showed the quality Jones has available to him, however, he is not getting over excited by the three points, especially whilst he is still getting to know his squad and working out the way to get the best out of them.
"We can’t get carried away with one win, albeit against a very, very good side," he continued. "We have to make sure we stick to that level of performance.
"When certain players aren’t playing, attitudes can change and it’s important that doesn’t spread to the collective. At the moment I’ve not seen that.
"The lads who haven’t played so far have been superb, but we can’t allow them to become passengers. We need to have numbers regimented. It’s a good group that has trained hard.
"I have always thought that honesty is the best policy. If someone isn’t playing well and not where they need to be, tell them.
"I’m enjoying the challenge and we’re making headway every day. Making progress is beautiful."