PRESTON boss Alex Neil has spoken of the strength his squad as early season injuries have forced changes on the pitch.
He also explained some of the thinking behind the attacking intent that has seen six goals in their opening two home league games.
North End have seen injuries to Louis Moult and Andrew Hughes disrupt their plans. Summer signing David Nugent is also sidelined and they lost Sean Maguire for the recent home game against Stoke due to concussion.
Neil told the club’s official website: “We’ve brought the other lads in and they’ve performed very well.
“I spoke about the fact that we’ve got a strong squad, there’s not a lot between the squad.
“This league’s tough, you need to play well in each and every game that you play to give yourself a chance of winning.”
Talking about North End’s goal form at Deepdale he said: “We’ve been trying to get our full backs higher up the pitch, we’ve been trying to be more expansive.
“The last two home games we’ve done that well, we’ve used our full backs, been more aggressive, we’ve put sort of technical players in the middle of the pitch and we’ve controlled stages of the game, so it’s good.”
Josh Harrop is one of those who has hit the target, scoring in his first start since last September in the 3-1 win against Stoke.
Neil is pleased for the player. He said: “That hunger and desire and not being involved really drives players, they’re desperate to show what they can do.”
And he added: “All the lads are fighting for their slots, they are all committed and they are all working extremely hard to try and push themselves into the team.”
Speaking of his goal and return to football action, Harrop told IFollow PNE: “It’s a great feeling, I missed out so much last year with injury.
“All those hours you put in working hard are for moments like this.”