Jordan Storey enjoyed putting himself up against Premier League players in the friendly against Leicester City and feels it will stand PNE in good stead.
The central defender came on as a half-time substitute, replacing Bambo Diaby, and was tasked with keeping the likes of Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes quiet.
While North End ended up on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline, Jordan feels there were definitely positives to take, especially from the second half.
He said: “I think we started a bit below our levels in the first half.
“We eventually built on it in the second half and we had quite a few good opportunities to level the scoring.
“I think they still had quite a few good chances, but we had a lot of good chances as well. Obviously the ‘keeper pulled off a few great saves.
“I think anyone could have nicked it in the end, but I think we did edge it slightly.
“We did look a lot better, and when we started getting on the ball, playing out wide and getting at them we did look threatening.”
There was plenty of quality on show for the Foxes, with Brendan Rodgers bringing a very strong XI to Deepdale.
They’re a team who like to get the ball down on the floor and play with intensity, and that’s something that can surely only be beneficial to come up against ahead of the new campaign.
Jordan added: “You want to test yourselves against the best players and I think it was a good test for us today, and hopefully that sets us up nicely for the start of the season.
“It’s a big test [against] Premier League players. A few of them have won the league so it was a great test for us, so hopefully it’ll stand us in good stead.”
Having “really enjoyed” his time on loan with Sheffield Wednesday during the second half of last season, Jordan has returned to Deepdale this summer and has played a big part in pre-season.
He’s spent most of July playing as the right central defender in a back three, and he’s hopeful he’s done enough to be in the starting XI come next Saturday, when PNE kick off the Championship season against Wigan Athletic.
Jordan added: “It was always my aim to come back here and try and prove myself again.
“Going out to Sheffield Wednesday was only going to benefit me and it did in many ways.
“I'd like to think I have done [enough to start against Wigan], but you never know.
“The manager knows what’s best for the team, and you know whatever team he picks will hopefully go and get the three points.
“It’s always a buzz around the start of the season, so hopefully we can get off to a fast start.”