Ryan Lowe confirmed new signings Mads Frøkjær-Jensen and Will Keane will feature at Deepdale next week in the upcoming friendly double header.
Both didn’t feature, as well as fellow newbie Duane Holmes, in the 1-0 defeat to Barrow AFC on Saturday afternoon, while Calvin Ramsay also watched on from the stands on the first official day of his loan deal from Liverpool.
However, with Ipswich Town and Aberdeen set to come to Lancashire on Wednesday and Saturday respectively, the North End faithful should be able to watch some of their new recruits.
Ryan said: “We’ve got to get these lads up to speed and they’ll get minutes next week. Then it’s about fighting for places and that’s the message going forward.
“Will [Keane] will definitely get minutes, Mads will definitely get minutes, Duane potentially I’m not too sure, and Calvin [Ramsay] not just yet. Liam Lindsay will be back too so we’ll be fine, we’re alright.
“We’ll get more minutes into them on Wednesday and then Saturday, and then the following week which is Fleetwood and Stockport.
“There’ll be a lot more minutes going on then, but we just want to make sure everyone’s got the right minutes in case they’re called up against Bristol City. That’s the main objective.
“We’ve got to get ourselves ready for that.”
Most of the players who were in from the start against Barrow got at least 60 minutes under their belt, stepping up from the 45-minute splits which have been seen in the opening two first team friendlies.
Things never really got going for the Lilywhites on the day, though, as they couldn’t come back from David Worrall’s fifth-minute opener.
“The performance wasn’t great in terms of what we want,” the manager admitted.
“The energy levels were okay. The lads who played 60-odd minutes covered five and a half to six km which is fine. That’s what we want out of it, and then we got the youngsters on a little bit later.
“When you come to Barrow you know what to expect. The minute you get here it’s pouring down with rain and blowing a gale.
“I don’t think we could get going in our stride really. We were a bit safe around the backline and probably played more backwards passes, but that’s what pre-season’s for isn’t it?
“[We need] to make sure we make those decisions better and pass forward, run forward. We didn’t do as much of that as we’d have liked, but fair play to Barrow because they put their bodies on the line.
“It was a fighting game. They tried to turn it into a fight and we got involved a little bit but we can’t get involved in that.
“Look, it’s a runout. The scoreline’s not great and that’s not what I want, but there’s no points at stake and, as I’ve said many times, it’s about getting minutes in the lads’ legs and we’ll continue to do that.”