PNE will be up for a battle going into a crunch away game against second-placed Nottingham Forest.
The Lilywhites will be encouraged by their performance against league leaders QPR at the weekend, which saw them pick up a point, against the odds.
Manager Phil Brown paid tribute to his players, claiming his side were unfortunate not to win having studied the tapes of the game: “We’ve got to go there buoyed by the fact we took the Champions-elect, or league leaders, to the wire.”
Brown has a full squad of players to choose from, apart from long-term absentee Conor McLaughlin, but gave no indication that he would make changes from the side who drew with QPR.
“We’ll do our best to stop Nottingham Forest from playing, then when we have the ball inflicting as much pain and hurt on them as we possibly can,” Brown added.
The club’s training ground, has seen a few extra additions this week. But not in the form of new players.
New gaffer Brown has been trying to instil a sense of positive attitude in the team, and signs with words such as ‘success’, ‘strong’, ‘cohesive’, as well as one sign emblazoning the term ‘invincibles’ overlooking the gym.
Brown said his side needed to show the spirit that the invincible North End side of 1880 showed when they went 22 games without loss: “If we can remain defeated for the rest of the season, and chip in with a few wins, we have every chance of being a Championship football club again next season.”
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