Preston North End assistant fired up for Burnley but disappointed by kick-off time of Lancashire derby
PNE head to Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon
Preston North End assistant manager Stuart McCall is relishing the prospect of another Lancashire derby - even if the kick-off time at Turf Moor is a source of frustration.
The Lilywhites have one more game to play before the second international break of the campaign. This Saturday, PNE head to Burnley on the back of beating Watford on Wednesday night. The Clarets, now managed by Scott Parker, have 17 points on the board from their first eight games.
The Turf Moor side are one of the promotion favourites in the Championship, despite the amount of squad upheaval on the back of relegation from the Premier League. McCall wishes it was a 3pm kick-off, or later, but he’s still pumped up for Preston’s second derby of the season.
“Yeah, I have been fortunate to play in a lot, up and down the country - north and south of the border and internationally, as well,” said McCall. “So, yeah, the disappointing factor for me - and it was the same against Blackburn - is the 12:30 kick-off. They don’t half kill the atmosphere, I feel. We had a decent atmosphere against Blackburn and we’ll have sold out our end at Burnley, but I just sometimes think the early kick-offs temper the atmosphere from the supporters.
“But, derbies are there to be relished and I am obviously looking forward to it. I just find it flat sometimes. That certainly transcends from the crowd, when they are getting there and they’ve not had a couple of beers, or they’re hungover from the night before. That’s in the Premier League as well. If you watch most games, the atmosphere seems to be a little bit quiet and subdued. Again, from our point of view, it’s up to us to get our supporters off their seats with attacking football and getting right about the game.”
On the challenge Burnley pose, he added: "They are second in the league and, according to their manager, have not hit the heights of what they will probably go on to do. They have got players to come back from injury and are a young side, just bedding in - although they've still got a lot of experience from the last couple of seasons. I have seen them a couple of times at Turf Moor and they’ve found ways to win - against Portsmouth and Plymouth.
“They even went to Elland Road and beat Leeds 1-0, without having most of the chances. So yeah, they are very well organised, but we’ve got to focus on what we can do. We have got to go into that game and focus on our strengths. I am sure that performance the other night will have given the lads a lift. But, we do know we’ve got to improve our away performances. There is no doubt about that and that’s what we aim to do.”