Preston North End have too much quality to be at wrong end of table says Ben Davies

Preston defender Ben Davies admits his own performances in the early part of the season were not good enough but feels he is getting back to somewhere near his best form.
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North End are 20th in the Championship table ahead of the trip to bottom side Ipswich on Saturday.

Alex Neil’s side slipped to the foot of the division at one point during a poor start to the campaign. They have picked up in recent weeks, however, and take a five-game unbeaten run to Portman Road.

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Davies says there was plenty soul searching throughout the PNE dressing room as they tried to get their season going.

Preston North End's Ben DaviesPreston North End's Ben Davies
Preston North End's Ben Davies

“Not enough individuals were performing for the first however many games, myself included,” said the 23-year-old.

“We had to have a proper look at ourselves on and off the pitch and get back to basics.

“That’s what I personally have done and over the last three or four games I feel like I’m getting back to what I was doing last season.

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“It hurts when you’re going out and losing every week. We knew we couldn’t keep doing that and pulled our finger out a bit more.

Ben Davies believes he is getting back to somewhere near his best formBen Davies believes he is getting back to somewhere near his best form
Ben Davies believes he is getting back to somewhere near his best form

“We’re starting to pick up results and I think we just need to stick together and keep working hard.”

While there has been an upturn in fortunes, PNE are far from clear of danger, 
sitting just two points clear of the bottom three.

“We’re still obviously not away from it,” Davies said.

“It’s still early in the 
season and the pressure does increase as the season goes on.

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“We know we’re in a position where can stop ourselves getting dragged into it.

“In my opinion, we’ve got too many quality players to be down there and we play too well as a team when we perform. We’re still disappointed with our start but there’s nothing we can do about that now.

“We’ve done well to get to where we are over the last few games but we are nowhere near happy with it.

“I think we’re all in the same boat and we’re starting to put a few results together and I think we can climb the table quickly.”

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Plans ahead of the trip to Portman Road may have changed, with Paul Lambert set to take charge of his first game on Saturday after replacing Paul Hurst.

North End will be looking to extend their unbeaten run with a game at Bristol City to follow before the next international break.

“We can just look at the next game which is a big game against Ipswich,” said Davies.

“It’s a winnable one and we’ve got a couple of games we can look forward to before the next international break.

“We’ll just try and pick up as many points as we can to try and climb the table.”