Jason Euell’s message to Preston North End players after tough start to the season

Jason Euell has spoken about how he’s helping the Preston North End squad keep their heads up.

PNE have had a poor start to the campaign, losing six of their seven league games.

That run of form ultimately cost manager Paul Heckingbottom and assistant Stuart McCall their jobs last weekend. First-team coach Euell has been installed as interim manager.

Speaking ahead of North End’s game away to QPR on Saturday, Euell told the press how he’s helping the players keep their spirits high.

“I think players are evolving like the game is,” Euell said, “and part of that evolving is their understanding of the game.

“There’s access to more information, as in data, video analysis and now the introduction of AI. Things can be done with that. It is also the interactions that they have with each other. If it’s not through their phone, verbally… there are a lot of things that are going around, which can be a good thing or a bad thing for players.

“And sometimes when you see players be in a certain way, it doesn’t mean that things are not going well for them. Sometimes it’s just how they are as a person. They view things differently, see things differently.

“But it’s an evolving game. Players are always evolving. And all I say to players is just be the best that you can, try and be better than where you were yesterday.

“It sounds very cliché, but don’t be too critical because we’re going to make mistakes, but don’t always forget about the positives as well, because it’s very easy to go, ‘I didn’t do this well, I didn’t do that well’, and you forget about the things you did do well.

“I think it’s still important that you have to focus on the good things, even though we might not be in a good place with a lot of positive things, but you still have to focus on that.”

North End have created plenty of chances this season but have struggled to put the ball in the back of the net.

As a former Premier League forward, Euell has given his insight into how to help attacking players find confidence in front of goal.

He told the Lancashire Post: “It’s just non-stop videos, talking, repetition in work.

“Sometimes I have to do the simplest things first to try and get them to take the steps ahead. Some of the boys always want to do a certain type of finishing, want to get a keeper and want to do this.

“Sometimes it’s just doing finishing without a goalkeeper, just getting the habit and the repetition of hitting the back of the net, because that’s what strikers want to do. It doesn’t matter how it looks, what part of the body it comes off, sometimes it’s just getting that feel of hitting the back of the net.

“It’s one of them ones, it’s very easy from the outside to always go, ‘Why didn’t he score that?’ or ‘He should have been there’, and it’s not for lack of trying, especially when we’re looking at some of the opportunities that we get from transitions, when you’re catching up play and crosses are coming in and you’re just missing it by a yard or an inch, because the run that [they] made probably about five yards before wasn’t quite the run [they] needed to do.

“Little things like that, we always look at, and how we can tweak it, how we can improve it, and just make sure that we can get consistency, not only being in the areas, but also being in the right areas to get the opportunities to then score.

“What I always say to strikers is, you only start worrying when you’re not getting chances. A lot of people look at it and go, ‘Oh, he’s had eight chances and he’s not scored any of them’. That’s a good thing, because he’s getting the chances, which means he’s doing the right thing, or the team’s doing the right thing.

“It’s when you don’t start getting the opportunities, then it’s to look at: is there something with his game, something with the team’s game, is he lacking in something?

“If you’re getting the chances, you’re doing the right things, it will come. Just don’t be disheartened by it.”