Lee Nicholls praises crucial figure for keeping him 'ready' to start for Preston North End

Lee Nicholls moved to praise Preston North End goalkeeper coach Mike Pollitt for ensuring he was ‘ready’ to step in and start when called upon by Graham Alexander.

Preston kept their first clean sheet in 273 days on Saturday as they won their first game under Graham Alexander 1-0 against Southampton.

Though North End were by far the better team in the opening 45 and could have been more than one goal to the good, the second-half was a backs-to-the-walls affair as Saints pushed and pushed for a leveller.

The promotion-hopefuls had a gigantic 89 per cent of the ball and 20 shots after the break, but resolute defending meant the quality of the majority of those efforts was not high, as they only registered three big chances and an xG of 1.72. North End themselves still managed an xG of 0.53 from their three second half shots, with Thierry Small and Delano Burgzorg squandering great opportunities.

But when Tonda Eckert’s side did get strong efforts away, they were always met by the big hands of Nicholls, who was equal to everything that came his way and made eight saves.

The pick of the bunch was a strong palmed diversion from Wellington’s rocket from distance, that even took a nick on its way through. Nicholls, who was making his Championship debut for North End and his first appearance since August, praised coach Pollitt for ensuring he was capable of stepping into the fray when called upon.

He told BBC Radio Lancashire: “I think I got lucky on one or two and then I think the one [Wellington], I think it actually takes a deflection.

“I think I sort of stood up and anticipated it going this side, I've got to cover here, it takes a deflection, I've got a hand to it and tipped it over the bar.

“It's one of them instinct things that comes from training. I think Polly's [Pollitt] been incredible with me. He's kept me ready, he's working me hard. That's just me. I'll always be ready if I get the nod and today I was ready.”

Lee Nicholls backs Daniel Iversen to come back stronger

Alexander made several big selection decisions as he made five changes to his side, the biggest coming in goal with Daniel Iversen being benched for a league game for the first time as a Preston player.

The manager said he felt Iversen ‘needed a little break’ and that he wants his goalkeeping department to be just as competitive as everywhere else on the pitch when explaining his decision.

It paid off ten fold with Nicholls putting in a gargantuan performance, but the No.21 was quick to stress Iversen remains a ‘top keeper.’

Nicholls shared that Iversen has been ‘incredible’ with him and was the first person to hug him at the full-time whistle.

“Dan is a top keeper,” he said. “This obviously will not be the end of Dan.

“He works incredibly hard and I think the best thing about Dan is he is an incredible person too.

“I got the nod today, it doesn't mean we wouldn't have won the game if Dan had have played today. It is what it is, things happen. Things change.

“I know for a fact now building on this performance, Dan will be right behind me. He will be pushing me hard.”

Lee Nicholls praises Jordan Thompson performance

Nicholls was left ‘buzzing’ with not just the win or the clean sheet, but the ‘mentality’ every played showed to drag the result over the line.

Ultimately, Jordan Thompson’s thunderous first-half volley was the difference between the two sides, but Nicholls moved to praise the midfielder’s whole display as well.

“I train with JT everyday and I know the ability he's got so I think my arms up in the air thinking if he connects with this it's in,” he said.

“With our position right now, it doesn't matter who scores, how we score, as long as we start picking up points.

“For me today, I'm buzzing for JT, I thought he was incredible. Really good captain's performance in the middle of the pitch. Ran everywhere, flew into tackles. I could go on.

“I think Liam Lindsay could have got man of the match today, There was good performances all over the pitch.”