'I have no doubt' - Preston North End star Lewis Gibson ready to lock horns with old club Plymouth Argyle
PNE signed the defender for a reported £1.5m plus in the January transfer window
Preston North End defender Lewis Gibson is fully focused on the task in hand against his former club, Plymouth Argyle, this weekend.
It’s a match of great importance at Deepdale, for both teams, on Saturday afternoon. The Pilgrims remain bottom of the Championship but are still scrapping for survival, while North End are aiming to secure their Championship status - a poor run of form has seen them drop down the league table.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side have won one of their last 13 games and suffered consecutive defeats over the Easter weekend, to QPR and Hull City. Gibson was back in the side last time out and on the score sheet; he is frustrated with where Preston find themselves, but has full faith they can get the job done on home soil.
“Absolutely,” said Gibson. “We all want to win the game Saturday. We want to be safe as soon as possible. I can definitely speak for myself... I always give 100 per cent. I hope that's seen when I'm on the pitch. I'm a winner and it hurts when I don't win, whether that's a draw or a loss.
“I have no doubt that this group will get us over the line and the aim is to do that on Saturday. You drive yourself mad if you go over scenarios and this and that... speaking as an individual, I'm delighted with it being in our hands. That’s the best place to be.”
North End have not looked in trouble this season but suddenly find themselves three points clear of 22nd placed Luton Town. The odds are still in PNE’s favour with two games to play, but it is a situation the Deepdale outfit ought not to be in - for a variety of reasons. Preston have taken the lead in six of the last eight games, but only won once. With such a great significance placed on scoring the first goal, Gibson knows that record simply has to improve.
“Very (frustrating),” said Gibson. “I think, probably, the last four or five games we've taken the lead and you think that you're going to take the points. There was Cardiff last minute, the Stoke penalty - which wasn't a penalty. The other day, 1-0 up, they get a penalty, which is not a penalty. So, yes, it's frustrating.
“I suppose that when you go 1-0 up, you think you're going to kick on and go again and that is the plan. That's definitely not what we intend to do: score and then suddenly try and hold on to something. That's not the intent. It's something that we have to put right.”
“I had a great time there...”
Gibson is one of the newest faces in the Preston squad, having joined from Plymouth early in the January transfer window. There were regular grins when asked about going up against his former club and team mates, but the versatile defender will have sentiment firmly taken out of the equation, come kick-off.
"I suppose it's another game really," said Gibson. “I had a great time there, great memories there, but yeah, it's another game. It's a good group, a hard-working group... it's not comes as a surprise really (that they are still alive) so fair play to them. They’ve got a good team and they are fighting for their lives.”