Preston striker Louis Moult hopes Nottingham Forest winner will help him shake '˜supersub' tag

Preston striker Louis Moult wants to soon be able to ditch his '˜supersub' tag.
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Last Saturday’s winner at Nottingham Forest was the first Championship goal Moult had scored as a starter.

His previous five in the league – three this season and two last – had come after being introduced from the bench.

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Moult, 26, has started the last three games, the reward for netting in the derby victory over Blackburn.

With numbers limited in the North End attack, this is a chance for Moult to nail down a regular start and hopefully add to his scoring tally.

“Not having scored when I had started did cross my mind in the first half at Nottingham Forest,” said Moult.

“I thought to myself ‘I need a goal here’ and would have done anything to score.

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“Thankfully that chance came my way when Lukas Nmecha put a great ball in and I managed to get on the end of it.

Louis Moult celebrates scoring Preston North Ends winner at Nottingham ForestLouis Moult celebrates scoring Preston North Ends winner at Nottingham Forest
Louis Moult celebrates scoring Preston North Ends winner at Nottingham Forest

“I might have been behind the defender when the ball came over but I made sure I was going take everything with me to score – including the defender!

“The passion from the fans when I scored was fantastic, I love that passion.”

It was this time 12 months ago that Moult’s £450,000 move from Motherwell was being finalised.

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The Stoke-born frontman officially made the switch on January 1 but a hamstring strain delayed his debut until later in the month.

It has been a slow-burner of a year for Moult in terms of finding his feet at Deepdale.

His performances have got better and his popularity has grown – ‘King Louis’ used by some supporters to describe him of late.

Moult revealed a chat with PNE boss Alex Neil may have fuelled the winner at Forest.

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Moult said: “The gaffer wants his No.9 to score, I’ve been doing that a bit more of late and hope to continue.

“He spoke to me before the game on Saturday and asked me to try and stay in the box that little bit more rather than always be trying to link play.

“The gaffer wanted me to get on the end of stuff in the box more often.

“Previously I was using too much energy outside the box.

“That is something for me to work on as we go along.”

While injuries have bitten deep at Preston this season, especially in forward areas, Moult thinks the squad can still cope.

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There’s plenty of football still to be played before the transfer window opens and provides the opportunity to bolster the squad.

“We’ve got a good squad and it’s not just the XI on the pitch,” said Moult.

“I don’t think we had this depth last season, the gaffer has brought in more flexibility which has helped us.”