'You can't just go for it' - Ryan Lowe hints at Preston North End pragmatism in Championship play-off run-in with Swansea City next up

North End lost out at the weekend against Millwall, 2-0, which has left them a point and place worse off when it comes to the top six. Blackburn Rovers’ point against Reading means Preston have more ground to gain and Coventry City have also jumped ahead of the Lilywhites in the hunt for the play-off places.

It now leaves four huge games in PNE’s season but Lowe admits he can’t just throw everything at these games, he needs to be planning ahead for what ifs and just going for it is not an option.

"You can't just go for it, you can't do that,” he said. “You have to respect the teams who you're coming up against but also make sure you're doing the work. Maybe the work we've been doing but also a tad more.

“For example, If on 60 minutes or 70 minutes this might happen, not so much elsewhere because we won't know that, but if you're under pressure and you need to see the game out, tighten it up, make changes. That's going through my head in terms of prepping for the games in terms of what subs we've got and what might I need.

"After Millwall, Swansea and the Blackburn game, it'll be a rough guide of where we might be. We've just got to make sure we do all the right things and we'll do that.

"The preparation, we're not changing anything. No one is getting too carried away. We've just got to go off the next three games again which is what we've been doing.

"Over the last nine games we've done that and the lads have had targets and they've been fine with that. We've put another three together with a points tally we think we can get and then everything else will take care of itself.”

North End were backed by a sold out away end at Millwall and their fans have another trip in store in midweek, with Swansea City next up.

Lowe’s task is to pick the players up after disappointment to make sure he gets the best out fo them in South Wales.

He said: “The fans have been great and everyone is getting excited. We just need to be a bit calm and I said to the lads - they're disappointed and I've had to lift them - 'don't be too down'.

"I've shown them the goals, the lads who were involved in them and what they could have done better, they know that which is pleasing.

"We have to brush it under the carpet as quickly as we can because we have another game to go on Wednesday and we'll lift them up on the way home and we have to go again.”