Every player in Preston squad will get the chance to impress new boss Ryan Lowe

Ryan Lowe will give all of the Preston North End squad a chance to impress him before he starts to shape things to his liking over the coming weeks and months.
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Lowe had inherited a big pool of players at Deepdale and there will need some pruning of it.

He’s got the January transfer window coming up but before then there’s plenty of football to be played and training sessions to be done.

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Last Saturday’s win over Barnsley gave Lowe the chance to look at 13 players for a decent length of time, with a 14th – Brad Potts – coming on in stoppage-time.

Preston boss Ryan LowePreston boss Ryan Lowe
Preston boss Ryan Lowe

Ryan Ledson and Scott Sinclair both came off the bench a lot earlier to make an impact on the game.

That was encouraging for PNE manager Lowe and others will get their chance.

Whether a player starts a game or not, Lowe wants them catching his eye.

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Reflecting on the changes he made during the Barnsley game, Lowe said: “We want lads to make an impact.

“We got Ledo on there to give us a bit more energy as the game went on.

“He replaced Ali McCann who had worked his socks off and we put Alan Browne into the wing-back position.

“Browney is as fit as a fiddle, we wanted to push their wing-back on that side further back and Browney did that with his running.

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“Ledo coming into the midfield helped get us forward more at a key part of the game.

“Scotty Sinclair came on at the same time and he was fantastic, running the channels well.

“Later on Brad Potts came on for Daniel Johnson who had worked so hard after not playing many games recently.”

Lowe was pleased with the way North End recovered from conceding the equaliser against Barnsley to go again and get their winner.

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There was no retreating into their shells or looking vulnerable to conceding another goal.

Lowe said: “There was no negativity from me when their goal went in, I was straight on the touchline to say to the lads let’s go again.

“We can’t always keep clean sheets but we can win games of football.

“The Barnsley goal came after the ball was struck into the ground, it flew up and there was a lad there to head it in.

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“It was then about going again, having that belief to go and get another goal.

“Whatever happens out there, how we go about things, I’ll take responsibility for.

“If there is a stray pass as we try to go forward, I can live with that because I want them going forward and entertaining the crowd.

“I want the players to be confident in showcasing what they are all about.”

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