Ryan Lowe was full of praise for the way his players have taken on instructions and put that into action in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Barnsley.
The new manager, having only taken his first training session on Wednesday afternoon, has had limited time to attempt to implement his pressing, attacking style of football, but PNE showed clear signs of that in the win at Deepdale.
While admitting there’s still work to be done, he’s been pleased with the way things have panned out so far.
Speaking to iFollow PNE, Ryan said: “For the group of players, it’s tough when the new manager comes in [because] you always want to shine, you perk up to do what you’re asked to do.
“They’ve all been fantastic in listening to what we’ve got to do. I’ve said to them in there it’s a new era and I want this to continue.
“There’s going to be challenges along the way, but if they keep listening to instructions, keep listening to what we’re doing then the fans will back them through thick and thin and if they do that then we’ll be fine.”
PNE went ahead on 57 minutes, with club captain Alan Browne slotting home at the near post after being played through on goal by Daniel Johnson, who would later get on the scoresheet himself, doubling his side’s lead.
Speaking about Browney, Ryan said: “I actually said to him today, I said ‘come on, any chance of a goal’ and he said ‘I’ll get you a goal’, so fair play to him.
“He’s gone on there and led by example as the club captain. I thought it was fantastic work from DJ, a nice sliding pass, a great run from Emil [Riis] across the front of the defenders and that opens it up for Browney to slot away.
“I’m really pleased for him and I’m really pleased for DJ, a goal and an assist, but more importantly really pleased for all the group.”
DJ hadn’t started a game for the Lilywhites since the away defeat against Nottingham Forest at the beginning of November, but Ryan chose to include him from the off on Saturday afternoon.
The boss said right from his arrival that everybody would get a “fresh start”, wanting to pick the side on what he sees, instead of how they’ve performed in previous matches.
“I haven’t really looked back at the games where anyone’s played,” he said. “I watched the Bournemouth game, the Fulham game and bits of the Middlesbrough game, and I wanted to see what I can get out of them.
“I don’t want to watch the losses because if someone’s not had the greatest game, I don’t want to look at that.
“I wanted to put my own stamp on it and I wanted to have a view on all the players from my eyes and Marshy’s eyes from the minute we met them.
“Everyone’s got a clean slate so that’s what we wanted to do, that’s what we’ve done and we’ll continue to do that. But ultimately we’ll get some more work in to the lads on the training ground and we’ll take it from there.”
Since arriving at the club, Ryan has spoken heavily about the fans and how he’s looking to bring them a style of play which can excite them, and that certainly happened in his first game in charge.
Ryan added: “I’ve said these fans pay their own hard-earned money to come and support Preston North End, and what I want to do as the manager of Preston North End is bring some good times back.
“It won’t always be good because there’s some good teams in the league, but at least they can see these lads put in effort, playing the style of football I want and if they continue to do that we’ll get more fans through the door.
“It was a nice reception beforehand, a nice reception at the end. Ultimately I’m pleased for the players, pleased for everybody associated with the board of directors with the result, but more importantly I’m pleased for the fans as well.”
Watch Ryan's full interview on iFollow.