Preston Pulse Issue 30

PRESTON North End’s new signing Scott Sinclair says his Deepdale aim is “to im- prove and to help the team push for promotion”. Speaking to iFollow PNE after completing his transfer from Celtic, the experienced forward said manager Alex Neil had sold him the club. The 30-year-old, who made his PNE debut as a substi- tute in the 1-1 derby draw at Blackburn, has signed a two-and-a-half year contract at Deepdale. And he said: “I am so delighted to get the deal done.” He added: “I had a fantas- tic three-and-half-years with Celtic, we did the treble- treble, I got the PFA player of the year, scored goals and was top goalscorer but now it is a new chapter for me. “I am coming here to im- prove and to help the team push for promotion. I spoke to the manager before I came and he spoke about training, about the tactics and I like where the club is heading – he persuaded me to come and I am so happy.” The North End boss has stressed his desire to add some experience and additional quality to his squad. And the former Chelsea and Manchester City man said: “I have got a lot of ex- perience and the job for me is to come in and help the team and help the push for promo- tion and hopefully I can hit the ground running. “As a football player you want to play in the big games and coming here, with where the club is heading, it is a great move for me. “I know what this division is about. I have played in the Championship and it is my job to create and score goals and to enjoy my football. “I had great memories get- ting promoted with Swan- sea back in 2011 and that is what we want as a club and I want to help with that and keep winning games.” Neil told iFollw PNE that he believes Sinclair’s “know- how” will be invaluable in North End’s promotion quest SPORT PULSE Preston Chorley & Leyland Got a sports story for Preston, Chorley & Leyland PULSE? Email us at news@prestonpulse.co.uk PNE manager Alex Neil believes that “silly er- rors” are costing his side at the moment. The Lillywhites’ form has dipped in recent weeks and that has seen them slip out of the play-off places. Speaking on the club’s official website after the 1-1 derby draw against Blackburn Rovers, he said: “We just need to cut out silly errors. That’s what’s costing us at the moment. “Earlier in the season, we weren’t making those – we were playing freely, playing confidently. “You can see today we had to tighten it up a lit- tle bit, make sure we were harder to beat, because there’s one thing playing freely but if you’re losing, you need to change it.” Meanwhile there are fears that Billy Bodin may be facing some time on the sidelines after picking up an injury in training. Neil said: “It was an innocuous challenge in training, he felt it but he did the full session. “He phoned the physio that night and said ‘look this has really swollen up’ and so we got him in and got him scanned just to make sure everything was ok and it showed a little bit of damage there.” Errors are costing us FORMER Longridge Town midfielder George Thom- ason has completed his move to League One club Bolton Wanderers. The 18-year-old joined Town a year ago and has played 25 times for Lee Ashcroft's side this season, finding the back of the net twice. He was snapped up by the North West Counties League side after he was released from Blackpool in the summer of 2018. Ashcroft also converted the youngster from left-back to centre midfield during his time in Longridge. Speaking about the teen- ager’s move to the EFL side, Ashcroft told the club’s of- ficial website: “He’s had an outstanding year with us. “I couldn’t be more pleased for the lad. He has a superb attitude, is willing to listen and learn, and his confi- dence has come on in leaps and bounds. A big difference for him will be the speed of thought in the professional game, but George is a very intelligent footballer and has a great football brain for such a young lad.” Trotters boss Keith Hill has also promised to take a first team squad to the MRG for a pre-sea- son friendly ahead of next season. Ashcroft said: “That’s a great ges- ture from Keith to be honest; I’ve known him a long time. “And when I rang him about George back in October he was great with the lad and his family, giving him a week- long trial, good feedback and committed to this January move there and then. George is a Trotter Heading in the right direction Former Celtic ace aims to strengthen promotion push NATIONAL League strug- glers Chorley have re- leased Ntumba Massanka after his contract came to an end and have mutu- ally agreed to cancel the contract of Louis Almond. Striker Massanka, who began his career at Burn- ley, moved to Victory Park from Burnley in August and played 28 games through to New Year’s Day, scoring three times. Almond joined the Mag- pies in the summer of 2018, playing 40 games during the 2018/19 National League North promo- tion campaign and scoring seven times. An injury spell this autumn restricted the former York City forward to just four substitute appearances this season. Manager Jamie Vermiglio said: “We’d like to thank Ntumba and Louis for their contributions dur- ing their time at Vic- tory Park and wish them well for the future.” The Magpies face an uphill fight to retain the National League status they won at the end of the last campaign. With 16 games left to play they find themselves bottom of the table and eight points away from safety. Magpie forwards depart YOUNG striker Michael Fowler rejoined Bamber Bridge in early January on a month’s youth loan from League One side Fleetwood Town. Michael joined Brig in Sep- tember, immediately making on impression on the side and lifting the manager’s player of the month award. However his initial loan spell ended early due to a slight injury. Brig said the player was fully recovered and ready to return. Brig’s league revival under new boss Jamie Milligan has seen the side record three wins and a draw in his first five games in charge, mov- ing the club up to 15th in the NPL Premier Division. Brig’s involvement in the NPL League Cup ended with a 2-1 away defeat at the hands of RamsbottomUnited. Michael’s back at Brig Lee Ashcroft “We are all very proud of George at Longridge and the other young players that have moved on having done well for us, and I know that he’s in good hands at Bolton.” Thomason told Bolton’s official website: “It’s a child- hood dream. Becoming a pro- fessional footballer at a huge club like this is unbelievable and I’m buzzing to just kick on and get going and play for this great club.” – which has been faltering in recent weeks. He added: “He will also add and help the younger players as well, which is a massive factor. “The season until this point has been good, in terms of getting us into that top six contention, but we have needed to strengthen and add a little bit of knowhow and experience in certain areas. “Scott is someone we have been interested in, and we have coveted before, and now that we have got him across the line, I am hoping that he will add that bit of quality and experience that we need.” Strengthening: Neil has moved to bring experience in