Graham Alexander offers thoughts on Preston North End pair Johnny Kenny and Stanley Mills
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Graham Alexander was speaking ahead of PNE’s game with West Brom.
Graham Alexander sounds excited about the quality Johnny Kenny and Stanley Mills can bring to his Preston North End side, with the pair in contention to finally play together under the new manager on Saturday.
Preston are struggling at the bottom of the table and performances have not been good enough, but they haven't been helped by a string of crucial players being unavailable.
Kenny missed Alexander's first two games in charge with a fitness problem before returning to the starting XI at Wrexham.
Mills was also out of Millwall with a knock but was sent off on his comeback at Birmingham City, meaning he couldn’t make the trip to Wales so the summer signing duo have yet to play together under the new boss.
However, both are finally available again for Saturday's game at Deepdale vs West Brom, which will hopefully boost the chances of a much-needed victory.
Graham Alexander knows Johnny Kenny's quality
Kenny was an unexpected starter at Wrexham and though he could not play 90 minutes, Alexander was pleased with what he saw. It was the Irishman’s pressing and deflected shot that teed up Alfie Devine’s leveller.
When asked about his performance by The Post, Alexander said: "Yeah, it was good but we knew he wouldn't be able to complete the full game.
"He's had a pre-season where he's not been exposed to a lot of game time. He missed the first two games and was another one that completed the last session before the Millwall game, but then just felt a little bit sore that night and the next day, so he had to pull out.
"We faced against Johnny last year when he was at Bolton, at my previous club, and he actually scored against us. So we know the quality he has.
"This has been his first proper training week with us. We know we've got a really good striker on our hands with Johnny."
Graham Alexander praises Stanley Mills' attributes
Kenny and Mills are forwards both signed for relatively big money for Preston in the summer.
While Kenny has played up-front in his appearances so far, Mills has had few opportunities in a solely attacking role.
Instead, he has most often been deployed as a right wing-back in the back-three formation.
Alexander praised his versatility.
"I haven't been here long enough to assess that," he said when asked where he sees Mills' best position going forward.
"He's played wing-back for us in one game. He played yesterday as well in that game at the training ground.
"He's certainly got real physical attributes.
"I think he's a great size, gets forward, wants to cross the ball, can score a goal.
"I think he's a player, and I've talked about this in the past, about having players available who can play in different positions.
"You need to have that versatility and I think Stan ticks the box on that side."