Ryan Lowe says he’s looking forward to getting to work with striker Milutin Osmajić, who arrived at Euxton for the first time on Thursday.
The Montenegro international joined PNE on deadline day but had to wait for his visa to be approved, so was stuck waiting in Spain until Wednesday when he got the all clear to fly to England.
Milutin got involved in training on his first day with his new teammates, and the manager confirmed he’ll go straight into contention for Saturday’s match against Plymouth Argyle.
Ryan said: “Milutin is game ready. He’s played some games already this season and John (Lucas) went over to Spain and did a bit of work with him.
“He’s big, powerful, and strong, which we knew. We’ll have a look at him today in training and see where he’s up to, but he’s fit and available.
“It was nice to see him come into the building this morning and I think he’s given the lads a bit of an extra buzz, which is always a bonus – smiles on faces around the place and we’re really looking forward to getting to work with him.”
Fellow deadline day recruit Liam Millar will also be available for selection, as will Ben Whiteman and Robbie Brady who have both been sidelined so far this season.
However, Ched Evans, Emil Riis and Calvin Ramsay will all miss the clash with the Pilgrims.
It’s set to be an interesting day at Deepdale, with the gaffer coming up against his former side and his ex-assistant Steven Schumacher, who’s now in charge of Argyle.
Ryan laughed: “It will be strange coming up against him, but we’re best of mates. There’s no 90 minutes going to get in the way of our 15-year relationship, definitely not.
“But he’ll be wanting to beat me, and I’ll be wanting to beat him, it’s as simple as that.
“We’ll hug it out before the game and have a drink after the game. May the best team win; hopefully that’s us of course.
“Of course, it’s going to be a little bit strange, but once the whistle goes both teams will be competing.
“It’s not me and him against each other, it’s Preston North End against Plymouth Argyle. It just so happens that two best mates are in charge of the two teams – one team each.
“It’s going to be interesting and a little bit weird, but it’s a game I’m really looking forward to.”
The weekend’s clash makes up the first part of a Deepdale double header, with Birmingham City and Sky Sports set to come to Lancashire on Tuesday evening.
Ryan said: “It’s definitely an opportunity for us to play well and perform, and that’s what we’ve got to do.
“I think the fans’ backing this season has been fantastic and we’re going to need that again.
“At the weekend we need to make sure we’re louder than them. I’m sure our fans will do that because I think it’s important.
“They’re both fantastic teams to play, it’ll be two tough teams in different ways, but these are the games you want. These are games you look forward to after the international break, coming into them with 13 points. You want to keep trying to sustain that.
“As we sit here now, we’ve got two fantastic games to look forward to and hopefully we’ll get some points from them.”