Brad Potts finding his best form as Preston North End prepare for big test at Brentford
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The Bees have won seven matches in a row and are very much in the automatic promotion frame.
PNE need something from the Griffin Park clash to stay in the play-off race, so there is much at stake.
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Hide AdMidfielder Potts says they can take heart from the fact they beat Brentford 2-0 at Deepdale back in September.
But he is fully aware of how well Thomas Frank’s side have been performing of late.
Potts said: “Brentford have been in really good form, they won a lot of games.
“We beat them at home earlier in the season and have shown we can go toe to toe with anyone on our day.
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Hide Ad“Results have been better recently and we will go there confident and believing in ourselves. We are operating on a different schedule than we are used to at the moment but we are enjoying it.”
Potts has featured in all six of the games since the season restarted last month.
Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest was his third start – he was also in from the beginning in the games against Derby and Huddersfield.
Last week the 26-year-old scored his first goal of the campaign at Sheffield Wednesday and is certainly playing with more confidence than he was at the beginning of the season.
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Hide AdSaid Potts: “Since we came back I have felt a lot more like myself.
“I was disappointed not to have started the first couple of matches because I felt I had done well in the bounce games we had.
“I didn’t let my head drop, I carried on what I was doing and I feel I’ve been playing with a lot more confidence than I was before the lockdown. I’m believing in myself more.
“It has been a frustrating season for me but I just want to do as much as I can to help the team do well.”
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Hide AdPotts had a change of role against Forest, playing on the right wing as PNE switched to a 4-4-2 formation.
It paid dividends, with him setting up Jayden Stockley for the equaliser.
“It was a bit different to how I had played in the previous games but I enjoyed it,” said Potts.
“Wherever the gaffer puts me I’m happy to play and help the team.
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Hide Ad“If I had to choose, I do prefer to play down the middle but I’ll play anywhere.
“It was nice to have a hand in Jayden’s goal and he’s been doing really well.
“If you play to his strengths he can be a real handful.
“You saw against Sheffield Wednesday how effective he can be, while in the Nottingham Forest game he was massive for us.”