Ryan Lowe makes Preston North End selection vow ahead of Middlesbrough and QPR

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe assures he will rotate his squad this week, with Middlesbrough and Queens Park Rangers to come.

It's a trip to Teesside on Tuesday night, before PNE welcome the Rs to Deepdale for Friday night football in front of the Sky Sports cameras. Preston are looking to bounce back from Saturday's cruel defeat to Cardiff City, in which the Bluebirds scored twice in added time.

Ali McCann, Greg Cunningham and Emil Riis remain the injury doubts for both games, with Andrew Hughes, Calvin Ramsay and Jack Whatmough having returned to the fold for the Cardiff clash. North End's manager has had time to build his squad and is content with the quality of it, but now needs to manage it efficiently - especially with everyone wanting to play.

"They do, but I expressed that on Friday when I picked the team - not to be disappointed and be there for your mate," said Lowe. "It's a squad game and it's going to get rotated over this week, because the games come thick and fast. They all know their responsibilities and what's expected, so we've got a good set of lads, with good togetherness and we know, whoever goes in and plays, they can do a job. For me, that's the easy part. The hard part is when people are performing and we have to change for tactical reasons - or to freshen it up. They are aware it's a squad game."

Liam Millar was the one international - out of four - who did not start Saturday's game given his travelling with Canada. The forward did come off the bench late on, replacing goal scorer Milutin Osmajic as the lone striker. North End's manager is glad to have a player of Millar's versatility, but admitted he would need to check on the number 23's condition ahead of Middlesbrough.

"Yeah, well he obviously played in a different position because we wanted to get him in the grass a little bit," said Lowe. "He was only on the pitch five minutes and had a whack to his ankle, so we'll have to see how that is. Milly was tired, but they were throwing everything at it and with his speed, he can get you up the pitch.

"He got in a couple of times. We know what he can do and what type of player Liam is. He's a 'dual roler' as we call it, he can play in numerous positions. And when you've got pace and power like he has, he can get you up the pitch, travel with the ball, cut inside and get shots away. So, yeah, he's a good addition."

One player who did not feature at all against Cardiff was Mads Frokjaer. The Dane was an unused substitute against Erol Bulut's side and after the game, Lowe explained he had gone home ill the day before the match. PNE's boss doesn't expect it to still be an issue for the Riverside visit.

"He'll be alright now," said Lowe. "We just sent him home. He wasn't well on Thursday, when he spoke to you guys. He was actually being sick and on Friday, he walked off the pitch and we just sent him home. We got him in for pre-match and he was fine to be on the bench. So yeah, I am sure he's over the worst part. We've just got to be careful nobody else gets it, because Woody (Ben Woodburn) was up all night with it and couldn't report for the game."