With trips to the division’s top two coming up this week, Ryan Lowe said his Preston North End side will approach the double header no differently to any other game.
North End will face current league leaders Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday night, before then heading to Portman Road to take on Ipswich Town this weekend.
According to the manager, PNE will go there with no fear though, confident in their own ability given the start to the season which has seen his side take 20 points from the opening nine matches.
Ryan said: “We’re going to approach it like we approach every other game. This week and these next two games don’t define our season.
“We’ve had a fantastic start with 20 points. We obviously want to collect as many more points as we can before the international break.
“We know we’re up against two tough teams – more importantly the first one in Leicester who have just come down from the Premier League, and they’ve got some fantastic players and are thriving at the top of the league which was fully expected.
“As for us, there’s no pressure on us. We’re going to go there with a smile on our face, play our football, put a gameplan together and hopefully we can take it to fruition and get a result.”
Only one side has taken points from Leicester City so far this season, with the Foxes – relegated from the Premier League last term – having won eight of their opening nine matches.
Still with a number of players who have competed in the top flight during the past few years, as well as some more recent additions to the squad, there is certainly no shortage of quality in their ranks.
Ryan said: “You can’t go there half-hearted, especially to Leicester who have just come down.
“They’re top of the league and they’ve got some fantastic players, but so have we. We might not match their financials but it doesn’t really matter.
“How we go about our business is key for what we do – going there with a smile on your face and performing to the levels that’s expected. Of course you have to.
“We can’t go there half-hearted otherwise you definitely won’t get a positive result, so that’ll be the plan. We’ll go there and hopefully put on a performance.”
The manager has no fresh injury problems to worry about heading to Leicester.
Will Keane, who was hurt on international duty and as a result missed three league matches, made his return off the bench at the weekend and could push for a start at the King Power Stadium.
Long-term absentees Calvin Ramsay, Ched Evans and Emil Riis remain sidelined, but the latter two aren’t far off a return.
Ryan confirmed: “Everyone’s all fine. Keano came through, obviously he played a bit of a part on Saturday.
“Emil and Ched are probably a week or two off. Ched’s got a scan on Friday and he’ll see the specialist on Monday so touch wood if all that goes well he’ll be back in full-contact training.
“Emil will be. He’s in training as we speak but not ready for this week, so after the international break hopefully the two of them are fit and available to be selected.”