Brentford manager Thomas Frank feels that his opponents at Griffin Park on Sunday have had a ‘top season’.
The Bees gaffer spoke to the media on Friday afternoon to look forward to his side’s season ending clash with the Lilywhites and gave a glowing report on PNE.
“Preston have had a top season,” he told the gathered media. “On their day they are a very entertaining, high pressing team.
“We know at Griffin Park it can be magical so let's hope we create that game.
“We want to finish as high as possible. We like the fact that we have been in the Championship for five seasons and would like to finish all of them in the top ten. It would be a nice finish to a remarkable, tragic, and crazy season.”
The EFL’s decision to award the London outfit a 1-0 win and thus three points from their postponed clash with Bolton Wanderers has lifted the Bees above North End and into the top half of the season.
Both sides have won 16 games and lost the same amount during the campaign, and Frank – who took over from Dean Smith just before the two sides met for the first time for the 4-3 thriller back in October – says his side have certainly learnt from an up and down year.
"We learned a lot,” he continued. “We learned our top level, because I think it is top three in this league, but there's the inconsistency throughout the season.
“We need to show that we can put all the bad things from this season right in pre-season.
“That bad spell showed us a lot about who we are and how we got out of it. We are not far off; we have top quality players and some of the football we play is fascinating, but there is also the defending side of things that we need to work hard on to improve.”