Preston North End: Ryan Lowe provides squad update as he looks ahead to this weekend's FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur
Ryan Lowe says Preston North End can’t have any fear when they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Deepdale this weekend.
The two teams go head-to-head in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday evening (K.O. 6pm), with the Lilywhites facing a big test against their Premier League opponents.
North End will be without Troy Parrott (parent club) and Liam Delap (cup tied) for the game, but will have two players returning from injury.
Lowe said: “Brad Potts and Ben Whiteman are both available. We’ve got no injuries, they’re all done.


“We’ve had a good week so far, and we will continue to train.”
Lowe says he’s feeling a range of emotions heading into Saturday’s game, but hopes his side will show the best of themselves.
“I’m excited but I’m also a bit nervous, in terms of what we’re coming up against,” he added.


“It’s not a run of the mill Championship team where anyone can be anyone, it’s a top opposition, a top club, a top manager and a top manager.
“We’re excited but we’ve got to make sure we give a good account of ourselves.
“I hope Antonio Conte is impressed when he looks at us, and I like to think he’ll show us the respect we deserve.
“He will look at the players, and the team, and where we are, and what we’ve done.
“He won’t just dismiss the fact he’s coming to Preston North End and will just win, I think he will go about his business as a top top manager does.
“My respect is massive for any Premier League manager, let alone Antonio Conte.
“Ultimately their squad has World Cup players in there and top performers on a weekly basis, and he is obviously a top manager.
“Whatever respect he shows us, we will accept and we will do the same thing.
“We’ve got to have absolutely no fear in taking the game to them, but we will have a really good go.
“When a Premier League team comes to Deepdale you’ve got to put on a really good show.
“We’ll set up in a way that we feel will help us.
“I don’t want people to be thinking we need to sit back and soak up all the pressure, that’s not what we want to do.
“We’ve got our own brand of football and we want to try to showcase it.
“Having no fear against teams like this can help you; the pressure is on them to come and turn us over because they’re a Premier League team.
“We’ve got to hopefully do something about that to stay in the game as long as we can and have a game plan.
“I don’t think it’s fair for me to analyse and talk about Tottenham’s season.
“To me they’re a fantastic football club, so I’m not going to sit here and criticise what they have done and what they haven’t done.
“What I do know is they’ve got good players and are a great team, so that’s enough for me to have sleepless nights beforehand.
“I’m sure people will look at their league table and their goals, but they’re near the top four and that’s more than enough for any team to get the credit they deserve.”
