Preston North End man eyeing the top six as he prepares for Bristol City game

Preston North End goalkeeper Freddie Woodman is excited for the start of the new Championship season and has his sights set on the play-offs. The Lilywhites kick-start the new campaign today away at Bristol City.

They swooped to sign the former England youth international last summer and he has made the number one spot his own at Deepdale since then. He has been linked with an exit in this window which is a credit to the work he has done since making the switch to Lancashire, although nothing has materialised which is good news so far for Ryan Lowe’s side.

Preston’s stopper is looking forward to the trip to Ashton Gate and has told the club website: “We had a good squad last season. The lads that left us were good players but I feel like the team’s recruited well and we’ve got some fantastic new signings, and we’ve got some good young lads as well coming through.

“So I feel like the squad’s stronger than ever and places are up for grabs really, so it’s a competitive bunch of lads and the new lads have bought into that and I feel like we’re in a better place.”

Woodman, 26, has admitted that missing out on the top six was tough to take last term: “I was chatting to the lads the other day and last season is still firmly in our heads. It almost feels like we’ve just rolled into another season, I can’t believe it’s come around so quickly.

“For me personally the pain of last season is certainly still there and it’s almost given me a fire in my belly to get going again. I said at the end of last season that I feel like there’s some unfinished business and that’s the reason why I wanted to be here. I wanted to fight and hopefully we can have a successful season.”

Prior to his transfer to Preston, he had spent nine years on the books at Newcastle United. He made nine first-team appearances for the Toon Army and also had loan spells away at Hartlepool United, Crawley Town, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, Swansea city and AFC Bournemouth to gain experience.