One PNE player who won’t worry about opposition fans getting on his back as the pressure builds in the charge for a Play-Off spot is Darnell Fisher.
The right back admits getting a bit of stick from away fans is something he thrives on and if North End can continue their good form, it means games still to come, including matches against fellow promotion contenders among them today’s opponents Millwall, should prove tasty for fans of both clubs.
“I like the atmosphere of games when it’s cagey, when their fans are giving you a bit of stick,” smiled the Reading-born 25-year-old.
“I just enjoy it and that’s what you want as a professional footballer. You want to go to intimidating places and you have to stand up and stick your chest out and prove them wrong.
“It’s great when the fans are on top of you, I just really enjoy that part of the game.”
While he hasn’t played in a Celtic-Rangers derby, Darnell sampled the match first hand during his time at Celtic Park so he knows all about fiery atmospheres.
“It was a great experience being at a club like Celtic, I learnt my trade there, came through the system and they played a big part in my career.
“It’s a massive club. You go to home games and there are 60,000 fans there, at Celtic they always fill the stadium and the fans are always intense, especially for the Celtic-Rangers games, they were something else. You don’t realise how big it is until you leave.”
Darnell has spent the last three seasons challenging for a Play-Off place, but PNE have fallen narrowly short each time – now he wants this to change: “I came here and it’s different to Rotherham - we are a better team, we have better players and you have better people around you.
“It’s my third season, I feel like I have been here a while and I like to think I know what the club is about now.
“It’s a hard-working club and that’s me in a sense, the people here are all hardworking, there are some good people here and you have got to really roll your sleeves up and go with it.
“I like being settled as well. I am not one of these people who likes moving around, I like to live in a place for a while and have everything together. I think that helps you on the pitch as well and that’s why it is good for me.”
There’s loads more from ‘Fish’ in Saturday’s 84-page edition of the matchday programme, including interviews and features with Paul Gallagher, Darren Carter, David Eyres and Paul Huntington amongst others.
This is another packed edition, on sale from Friday afternoon from the Sir Tom Finney Stand ticket office, or from inside and outside the stadium on matchday, still for just £3 per copy.