Manager Alan Irvine is busy putting together a testing pre-season schedule and all three could provide opposition in the build-up to the big kick-off.

A week-long training trip to the Alps has already been agreed with two games against local opposition now being finalised.

Irvine is also aiming to take his squad to his homeland north of the border for another double-header.

And he is hoping to welcome his former boss David Moyes and his Toffees squad to Deepdale for a crowd-pulling friendly before the real stuff gets underway on August 9.

"I would like us to have some difficult fixtures ahead of the new season," Irvine said.

"And if I can arrange all these they would give us exactly the sort of preparation we are looking for."

Irvine has booked a training camp in the Styria region of southern Austria where he spent four summers with Everton during his time as assistant manager and where Arsenal, Real Madrid and Roma have all been regular visitors.

The squad will fly out on Saturday, July 5, just four days after the players report back to work. They will stay a week.

The plan is for five days of arduous training – up to three sessions a day – before half the squad play their first warm-up match of the summer on Friday, July 11.

The second game is expected to be played the following afternoon before the party jet back to England.

After that, Preston will tackle the annual friendly matches against local clubs Bamber Bridge and Chorley and have then pencilled in a game at Carlisle on Saturday, July 26, on their way up to Scotland.

"We are obliged to play Carlisle because it was part of the deal when Paul Simpson came here," Irvine said.

"But that all depends on what happens in the League One play-offs. If they come up to the Championship then obviously we won't be playing a team from our own division."

Irvine is still waiting to hear about opponents in Scotland and hopes to announce dates soon.

"Again, I want it to be a double-header while we are up there.

"It would be better if we could get two games sorted out because then all the players can get some good time on the pitch.

"I have put one or two feelers out and we will have to wait and see who we can get.

"But it would be good to play teams in Scotland because they are normally a little in front of us in terms of fitness and the games are usually tough, physical and played at a high tempo.

"There is no such thing as a friendly between teams from Scotland and England and that is terrific. That's just what we want as we prepare for the Championship."

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