Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe reacts to Stockport County loss and looks ahead to Bristol City

Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe has said their loss to Stockport County on Saturday afternoon is a reality check for his side. The Lilywhites were beaten 2-0 by their League Two opponents in their final pre-season friendly of the summer at Edgeley Park.

Freddie Woodman saved an early penalty before the Hatters took the lead shortly after through midfielder Will Collar. The hosts then doubled their advantage in the second-half through left wing-back Ryan Rydel’s free-kick.

Preston now have a big week ahead of them on the training pitch as they prepare for the start of the new Championship season. First up for them is a tricky away trip to Ashton Gate to face Bristol City.

Speaking after their loss to Stockport, Lowe said, as per club website: “It’s a reality check before next week. If it’s going to happen I’m pleased it’s happened now and the lads are aware of that.

“I’ve just told them in there in no uncertain terms that it’s not acceptable when you come away from a gameplan and don’t win games of football. When you stick to the gameplan you’ve got every chance of winning.

“There’s no points at stakes today. It’s a friendly so maybe some of them are just going through the motions to get through pre-season – I can understand that a little bit, but I don’t want that. I’ve got a team to pick for next week, the Championship starts and we’ve got to be better than we were today.”

He added: “Ultimately next week’s the most important thing and that’s against Bristol City, so it’s going to be a massive week, an important week, because we’ve got to do better than what we’ve done today.

“If we do better than what we’ve done today we’ll have a chance of getting a result, if we don’t then you won’t have any chance.”

Friendlies are mainly about getting fitness and giving new signings time to adapt to their new surroundings. However, it is important to get into the habit of playing well and winning games. If Preston can go and pick up a positive result at Bristol City, nobody will care about their defeat to Stockport this weekend.