Graham Westley wants Preston North End to finish this season with a flourish as he looks to take a feel-good factor into next term.
North End have just three more games to play, starting with tomorrow’s visit to Oldham Athletic (3pm).
They then welcome champions-elect Charlton to Deepdale a week tomorrow, before rounding off at Bournemouth on May 5.
Buoyed by last Saturday’s win over Huddersfield, Westley is looking for a strong conclusion to what has been a troubled campaign.
The PNE boss said: “Nothing would be better than if we can go into the summer on a high and post four straight wins.
“We beat Huddersfield last time out, and now we’ve got the first of our last three games to focus on tomorrow.
“If we put a run together, people might look at it and think, ‘We’ve had a difficult season, had a difficult period under the new manager but things are starting to turn’.
“If we could get the feel-good factor and optimism building-up, I’m sure we can go into next season as strong favourites for promotion.
“We’ve had a long look at the Huddersfield win this week, particularly studying the differences between the first and second halves.
“We’ve looked at what we did so much better in the second half than the first, and we’ll try and take that forward. We want to keep heading in the right direction and keep on bedding in the things we are doing well.
“Then we want to add things to that, grow the performance level.
“In the second half against Huddersfield, our composure in possession of the ball and willingness to assert ourselves in an attacking sense was much better.”
North End will be without Iain Hume and Paul Parry tomorrow, the injured pair likely to miss the rest of the season.
Graham Cummins and Craig Morgan, who replaced them during the Huddersfield game, are set to got the nod in the starting XI.
Westley is pleased to be able to call upon the services again of Morgan in the heart of the back four.
He said: “I was glad to get Craig Morgan on last week – and that’s nothing personal against Paul Parry.
“I would have started with him against Huddersfield had it been possible, but it would have been too much of a risk.
“Morgan brings with him organisation, leadership and knowledge of how to win a football match.
“He got a grip of Jordan Rhodes and nullified any threat he was offering.
“I couldn’t risk him from the start last week because he hadn’t trained much.
“But he’s had a full week’s training since.”
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