Preston North End boss Frankie McAvoy hopes victory will be confidence booster for Forest trip

North End produced a tactical masterclass at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday night to come away with an excellent 2-1 victory.

Goals by central midfielders Ben Whiteman and Ali McCann ensured the first defeat of the season for the Cherries – and the first away win for North End.

After an indifferent campaign so far, McAvoy is hoping the win over Scott Parker’s men will be the boost his players need for the rest of the campaign.

Despite being down in 15th spot, North End are only four points shy of the play-off places as they prepare to head to the City Ground this weekend to take on Nottingham Forest.

“You would hope this result will kick us on for a good run of results,” said McAvoy.

“Bournemouth are an excellent team and what Scott Parker has done there has been fantastic.

“They are worthy of being top of the league but we have got a good group here, who I have faith in and I knew we were capable of going there and getting a result.

“When you play teams who are flying high, you need to make sure that you are respectful of them and don’t leave yourself open to spaces for them to exploit. That was an area that we worked on.

“Hopefully our performance will give us that wee bit of added confidence going into the game tomorrow.”

While naturally spirits are high following the win over Bournemouth, McAvoy knows this weekend’s trip to the City Ground will be a totally different affair.

After a poor start which cost Chris Hughton his job as manager, Forest have enjoyed a revival after Steve Cooper was installed as manager.

Of their last nine league games, they have won five and drawn three – the only blot on the copybook was a 4-0 defeat to Fulham at home.

“This weekend is a different game, a different opponent and will be a different challenge for us,” said McAvoy.

“Steve has done a terrific job since he’s come in and replaced Chris.

“He changed the system to a 3-4-3 with a sinking No.9 and two wide players.

“They have got a young player in Brennan Johnson who has done really well.

“They also have a bit of experience in their team and in striker Lewis Grabban – they have a striker that I know very well from my time at Norwich.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge.”

North End stayed on the South Coast yesterday and they will travel north to Nottingham today where they will prepare for this weekend’s fixture.