Paul Heckingbottom emphasises Preston North End priority ahead of Blackburn Rovers derby day

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom wants his players back up to full speed by Sunday.

The Lilywhites left it all out on the Deepdale pitch on Tuesday night, as they knocked Premier League side Fulham out of the Carabao Cup. After 90 minutes, North End prevailed in a thrilling, record breaking penalty shootout - winning 16-15. Now, it’s on to the first Lancashire derby of the season - as Blackburn Rovers head to Deepdale for a noon kick off.

"Yeah, it's important how we recover now," said Heckingbottom. "You could see the bodies out there - a couple of kicks, which will hopefully be OK and a few boys with cramp. But, they needed the games. I like having the games - it's good to practice things. When you get the right end of a result, you mentioned the atmosphere, everyone will go home feeling great. But, they are probably running on a bit of adrenaline at the minute."

Heckingbottom added: "Always (work to do). I will be very surprised if we've played the perfect game. We are always trying to, but the bare minimum is you've got to fully understand how much it takes to win a football match. If that can become our level and we can become really consistent with that, then we'll gradually improve the performances. You can't expect it to be overnight. It's something we have to practice.

“All of a sudden we are a team that's really on the front foot, rather than back foot, in every way. It will take time, but I like what I'm seeing and the fact that there's a willingness and eagerness to do it. Then, it's on me if it goes wrong. I want them to understand that. If they give the ball away, I'm not bothered; if we're not getting on the ball, we've got a problem. So yeah, it's those sort of messages and that trust, where they need to start trusting me that is the case."

During the Cottagers clash, Patrick Bauer was forced off after the hour mark with a shoulder injury. PNE’s players were out on their feet come full time and there were a few bumps and bruises to show for it. One player who did have to soldier on was substitute Andrew Hughes, who received treatment from the physio but managed to play the rest of the match. Heckingbottom expects him to be OK.

"His was a kick, yeah," said the North End manager. "If it had been anything other than that, we would've brought him off. But, it was just a kick and you saw him gradually moving better towards the end of the game. But, he will be sore."