Ben Woodburn selection explained by Ryan Lowe after Preston North End's loss at QPR

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe defended his selection of Ben Woodburn in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers.

Lyndon Dykes popped up with the only goal of the game, with 20 minutes on the clock at Loftus Road - capitalising on a Freddie Woodman drop. Lowe made five changes to his team and that included a first league start of the season, for Woodburn.

The Welshman has made 21 appearances this campaign, but his only start had come in August’s EFL Cup clash with Salford City. You had to go back to March 11, 2023, for his previous Championship start. Post-match, Lowe - who had suggested in midweek that Woodburn could get an opportunity - was asked about the decision.

“Yeah look, if you were around the training ground and saw - and I don’t want this to be taken out of context; people might’ve raised their eyebrows because he played - but I’ve been toying with throwing him in loads of times, when Mads (Frokjaer) has been a bit tired,” said Lowe. “We want to keep our shape with the number ten and the only other one was Theo Mawene. If I had thrown him in, it might’ve ruined the kid’s career at 16 - who knows?

“But, Woody trains hard every day for the shirt and he wears the shirt with pride. He is a top kid, fantastic lad and works his socks off. He has been in for a bit of criticism over his tenure at the football club, but what I do know and what I will say is that he works his socks off every day. He is first in, last out and wants to improve all the time. The game was a little bit hustle and bustle; we felt he could find some pockets. He got into some good, little areas.

“A lack of game time, maybe. And look, at the end of the day Woody is a player out of contract at the end of the season and we’ll have a discussion. But, that is the case for all the players. I take care in all the players, let alone just Woody. It was a tough game for him to go into, but when you see him in training he is worthy of a chance - because he’s excellent.”