Frankie McAvoy wants Preston North End to spread responsibility for scoring goals

Frankie McAvoy wants his Preston North End side to provide a goal threat from different positions as they chase a much-wanted victory in the Championship.
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The Lilywhites head to London to face Queens Park Rangers tomorrow on the back of five league draws.

McAvoy’s outfit are nine matches unbeaten but in that run are only two wins in the Championship – those came back-to-back in August.

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Being able to bring back three points from the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium going into the international break, would be a big boost.

Sean Maguire (above) has partnered Emil Riis in Preston North End’a attack since the end of AugustSean Maguire (above) has partnered Emil Riis in Preston North End’a attack since the end of August
Sean Maguire (above) has partnered Emil Riis in Preston North End’a attack since the end of August

PNE head coach McAvoy said: “We have reacted well since losing the first three games of the season.

“We are on an unbeaten run and have proven that we are a hard side to beat.

“What we now need to do is be a bit more clinical going forward. We’ve gone mainly with Emil Riis and Sean Maguire as the front two.

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“We have to make more chances for those two and more chances in general, be clinical when we get them.

“Set-plays are big for us and that is something we have to think about.

“We work hard on those and it’s good when they lead to us scoring.

Ben Whiteman scored with a free-kick the other night, that’s three goals for him in three home games.

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“We need to be good at our set-plays, whether it be free-kicks, corners or long throws.

“If we can get into good habits with those, that would be a big help.

“Goals can come in a variety of ways and we need a few more to push us on.

“We need to keep believing in ourselves, we are in a good frame of mind at the moment.

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“Tomorrow we have another tough test at QPR who are a very decent side.”

McAvoy and his staff will assess the fitness of Andrew Hughes before leaving for the capital this afternoon.

Hughes missed Tuesday’s draw with Stoke because of a toe injury sustained last week at Birmingham.

The toe in question got a battering in a challenge from Blues striker Troy Deeney and is in a bit of a mess.

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Said McAvoy: “I think it was one from big Troy to let him know he was there.

“There’s bruising around the nail and some superficial stuff to the skin, it’s a sore one.

“Andrew had it injected at half-time at Birmingham to get him through the rest of the game.

“We couldn’t put him in on Tuesday night, he’s been on antibiotics and piankillers.

“So we will see how he is and make a decision.”

Connor Wickham has had surgery to repair a damaged hamstring, that likely to rule the striker out for a number of weeks – possibly the duration of his short-term contract.