Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe can’t wait to make return to Deepdale tomorrow

The Lilywhites play host to Birmingham tomorrow (3pm) and that will give Lowe chance to meet the home faithful for only the second time.

His first game in charge was against Barnsley back on December 11 before three games fell by the wayside due to Covid.

PNE have been on the road since, at Stoke on January 3 and then behind closed doors against Cardiff last Sunday.

So the chance to continue building the rapport with the supporters is a welcome one for Lowe.

“That first game was amazing, walking down the touchline and the fans singing my name was fantastic,” Lowe told the Lancashire Post. “We’ve had to wait so long for it to come around again at Deepdale.

“Going away to Stoke and seeing the 1,600 who travelled was brilliant and we want that support to continue.

“We want to put game plans together so that the fans go home proud of the lads and the football played.

“As a group we are really excited to get back to Deepdale and it’s over to the lads to get the fans singing and shouting.

“To have had only one home game isn’t ideal and there is plenty of catching up to be done.”

Having shuffled the pack with four changes for the FA Cup tie at Cardiff, Lowe has some selection issues for Birmingham’s visit.

He held Ben Whiteman, Alan Browne and Ched Evans on the bench until later in the game to give them a breather.

Andrew Hughes wasn’t in the squad in South Wales in order to protect an injury.

Lowe had most of the squad training yesterday and will do likewise today. He is seeing the right things from his players on the Euxton pitches and is enjoying working with them.

Said Lowe: “They’ve been as good as gold, my way of playing football is simple, effective, attacking football.

“If they do that, they have more chance of getting into the team.

“On a daily basis these lads have been fantastic, so that means Thursday and Friday are headache days for me because I’m trying to pick a side and looking at people to give us a spark..

“We have a duty of care to the lads who have been in the team and squad but there are one or two lads outside of the squad who have shown me they want to put on a Preston shirt and play for the club.”

Fans aged 18 and over are reminded that to gain entry they must produce a valid NHS Covid pass, whether this is in the form of a vaccination pass or proof of a negative lateral flow test.