Skipper Paul Gallagher says Preston North End can bounce back against WBA

The Lilywhites have hit a bump in the road over the past week with defeats at Derby and Hull – the 4-0 reverse at the KCOM Stadium leading to plenty of soul searching.

Gallagher skippered the side on Wednesday night and offered a collective apology for the performance.

There was also an air of determination about him to get results back on the rails.

“We have got a group of players who up until now have done well this season,” said Gallagher.

“When things are going well it is nice to get the pats on the back but now it is time to roll the sleeves up and stick your chest out.

“I have been here a long time, the squad and the club have come back from things like this before.

“We found things difficult at Hull, it wasn’t good, so we need to bounce back.

“The first thing you normally get with Preston North End is that they compete, they get in your face and are hard to play against.

“At Hull we did that a bit in the first half but not enough.

“The timings of the Hull goals really hampered us.

“You look back to half-time and that was the chance to rally, try to get back into the game.

“We were going out to shoot towards the end where our supporters were, but we then we gave away a penalty two minutes into the second half and from then on it was always going to be a long evening.

“When you look back at the game, we actually created quite a few chances.

“We hit the post early in the game, we had breakaways which we didn’t make the best of. Unfortunately Hull’s end product was better than ours.”

One PNE player who found it particularly tough going at Hull was Ryan Ledson, with the midfielder asked to play at right-back and left-back.

Gallagher admitted his team-mate had been dealt a tough hand.

“It was probably one of the most difficult games to come into as a full-back because Hull’s big threat came from their wingers,” said Gallagher.

“Ryan will learn from it, he’s a good lad and a good pro who works his socks off in training.

“The other week against Huddersfield he was excellent, that is what you get from him.

“It was hard for us all over the pitch.”

North End have a tough assignment on Monday night as they look to bounce back from the two defeats.

They host West Bromwich Albion at Deepdale, the game being televised live on Sky.

Shortly before kick-off, PNE will find out their FA Cup opponents. The third round draw takes place at 7pm.