Ryan Lowe says he and the players want to make Wednesday a special night, as the club remember Sir Tom Finney ten years on from his passing.
Preston North End are facing Middlesbrough under the lights at Deepdale, sporting a special edition kit in memory of a true club legend.
While the North End boss never had the pleasure of meeting Sir Tom, he has certainly been made aware during his time at the club about what the famous No.7 meant to everyone associated with PNE.
Ryan said: “We want to try and make it a special day for a special person. What Sir Tom Finney did for this football club and what he did out of football, with his plumbing and being there for his country, I think it’s a massive occasion.
“I’m proud to be the manager in this situation at Preston North End Football Club, knowing that it’s been ten years since his passing.
“What he’s done for the football club, you only need to look at the statue and the seats facing me in the Sir Tom Finney Stand. Having the stand in his name, his picture in the seats, it’s fantastic.
“Hopefully we can make it a special day for the Finney family tomorrow night.”
The manager admitted North End are looking to put things right from last time they faced Boro, when Michael Carrick’s side came out 4-0 winners at the Riverside.
PNE head into the game feeling good, though, following back-to-back wins against Ipswich Town and Cardiff City respectively, and sat just a few points outside of the top six.
“We’re in a good situation at the moment I think,” added Ryan. “The points tally we’ve got and the position we’re in, we’ve got a small [target] tally of points for the February month for the five games.
“We’re getting where we want to get to and getting closer to that. Middlesbrough’s another game to get closer to that, and then obviously you look at the next two.
“First and foremost it’s Middlesbrough coming to our home turf and we’ve got to make sure we perform to the levels we’ve been performing to of late.
“We’ll respect Middlesbrough for what they are of course because they can beat anyone on any given day, but so can we, so it’s a game we’re thriving on and looking forward to.
“The lads have recovered well the last few days. They’ll do some work on Middlesbrough today and hopefully we’ll give a good account of ourselves.”
Ryan expects to be able to call upon skipper Alan Browne for this one, despite him limping off in Cardiff, while a late decision will be made on Brad Potts.
Ched Evans and Duane Holmes will both miss out once again, with the manager still hopeful the latter could be available for Saturday’s Lancashire derby against Blackburn Rovers.