MANAGER: Hugely important period

“Over the course of the next week or so we have nine points up for grabs so it is hugely important,” he said. “We’ve had a great run at home recently and we want that to continue.

“Boxing Day will see a big crowd and we hope we give them the level of entertainment we reached against Brentford and Tranmere. Simon [Grayson] has got his team playing a good brand of football and they will come here feeling confident. It’s up to us to play our game and to make sure we get the most out of each other every step of the way.”

“The fans were magnificent again on Saturday,” he agreed. “I think they do understand what we’re trying to achieve and they will definitely be up for the game on Thursday. They’ll be behind us and I’m sure the lads will get an extra lift from that.

“We’ve had some great games against Preston and this one will be no different. They’ll want the points to keep up their momentum and we want to be looking at the top half of the table again. It’s one we can all look forward to.”

“We lacked a bit of urgency and tempo on Saturday and we’ll be looking to put that right,” he told us. “We’ll have to move things round a bit, with Courtney [Meppen-Walter] being out through suspension, and I’m sure he has learned from that. 

“Whoever plays we expect them to be ready to go. As we’ve said a number of times, a good run between now and the new year and we can really start to think about what we want from the second half of the season.”

“I don’t think the players need any extra motivation for any of our games,” he insisted. “They know how important it is to give their all every time they go out there. Boxing Day games always have their own buzz and, with it being against Preston, there will be a lot of noise from both sets of fans. 

“We’re at home and we’re playing some good stuff here at the moment. Hopefully that will continue and we’ll send the fans home happy after they have enjoyed their Christmas Day.”