Preston North End defender Andrew Hughes eager to get back into action against Stoke City

Hughes and his PNE team-mates were forced into a festive shutdown due to Covid cases hitting some of the squad.

They all spent a week away from the Euxton training ground before returning on Thursday ahead of the Bank Holiday Monday visit to Stoke City.

The clash with the Potters at the bet365 Stadium will be their first slice of action for more than three weeks.

Three games fell by the wayside in that time, the first at Millwall because of positive Covid cases in the Londoners’ squad.

The outbreak at PNE forced the Boxing Day meeting with Sheffield United and then the trip to West Bromwich Albion to be called-off.

Hughes told the Lancashire Post: “This was my first time off at Christmas for 13 years or something like that.

“It was nice in a way but at the same time a weird feeling too.

“At least there were a few other games to watch, a bit of footy on television.

“We kept busy during our time away from the club. Tom Little the fitness coach set up a programme on Strava.

“We had to log our runs on that which showed how much we had been doing.

“It was a case of ticking over and keeping on top of our fitness.

“When we came back on Thursday, it almost felt like we were coming back for pre-season.

“It was only a week we had been off but it did feel like longer.

“I suppose you can’t be surprised by anything that happens at the moment.

“We’ve been getting used to things not being straight forward for the last couple of years and you’ve got to deal with it the best you can.

“We are all looking forward to getting back into action now.

“It’s Stoke next and we are expecting a tough game down there.

“We’re going there to try and win it. The fans will be excited for it because they haven’t had a game to watch for a while.

“They will go in their numbers because it’s not too far.

“Stoke are a really well organised side and have a lot of good players.

“You could say they have under-achieved for the last few years after coming down from the Premier League.

“They played well at our place earlier in the season, that was a game I missed because of a toe injury. We saw what they could do that night.”

The visit to Stoke will be just a second in charge of PNE for Ryan Lowe.

He made a winning start against Barnsley on December 11 and then the shutters came down on PNE in terms of matches.

Hughes has enjoyed his time working with Lowe, there having been time for quite a few training sessions before last week’s shutdown.

“Leading up to the Barnsley game the manager only had a few days to work with us,” said 29-year-old Hughes.

“I felt that we picked-up the things he wanted us to do quite quickly in that game and he’s since added more things in.

“We had an 11 v 11 in training before we went off and he let that flow, stepping in just when he wanted to give some more information.

“He’s definitely been putting his mark down and will continue to do so the more we are together.

“There are a few things which have changed for us in how we attack and move the ball.

“In the Barnsley game as a centre-half I found myself overlapping Josh Earl down that left side a few times!

“I’m a player who likes to get forward but I have to remember I’m still a centre-back.

“I’ve been really impressed with what the manager has tried to do since coming in.

“Once we get back to playing, the games will come think and fast.

“We’ve got the games which were postponed to fit in, so there’s plenty of football ahead as the manager looks to get his message across.”

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 month for the first two months. Try us today by clicking here