Ex-Newcastle United man opens up on 'really difficult' Preston North End setback

Preston North End goalkeeper Freddie Woodman has opened up on having to deal with being dropped after 68 consecutive starts.

For PNE's trip to his former club Swansea City, just before Christmas, Dai Cornell was handed his full debut for North End. Woodman was named on the bench, before returning to the team three days later against Leeds United.

Woodman watched the Lilywhites lose in the last minute in south Wales. And, while pleased for his good friend, did not enjoy the experience at all. Last season's Player of Year has discussed the setback with PNE's official match day programme: 'The One and Only'.

"I'm not going to lie, it was tough," said Woodman. "For someone like me, I want to be in the team and I want to be playing. It was a really difficult time in my career. If I was my youngster self, I probably would have dealt with it differently. But, I had to respect that Dai was going in. He's my best mate at the club, so I wanted to be there for him like he always is for me. It was a tough week, but I am glad to be out the other side of it.

"I had a chat with Paddy Bauer. He's a good friend of mine and gave me such great advice. And, it's in those bad moments when you are so thankful for having good people around you. I've built such good friendships here for the first time. There's so many good people, which makes it a little bit easier. It was really special (being back in for the Boxing Day win over Leeds).

"Really good; it was a manic week of football. Honestly, I got to the end of the week - after Swansea and Leeds - and it was a bit like 'that was the longest week of my life'. It was crazy. It was a good win, but we needed to build on it. We didn't do that after the Leeds game. I've come to the realisation that football is very much about momentum and confidence."