Ryan Lowe outlines how many points he thinks Preston North End will need and gives positive update on Manchester City loanee

PNE are currently on 62 points in seventh place, the same amount as Millwall and Blackburn Rovers in fifth and sixth respectively but with worse goal difference, with five games to go.

Lowe has set his side a short term points total goal, for over the next three games, but when it comes to the full five that would see him to the end of the season, he thinks his side will have to pick up plenty of points.

He said: "It could take anything from 72 to 74 for the fifth and sixth places, potentially, but that depends on other results. Over the past four or five years it's been on average 74 to 76 points.

"If you get 74 points you'd like to think you'd stay in there but teams have got to play each other, we have to play Millwall and Blackburn, Millwall play Blackburn and then there are other teams that have to play.

"It could throw up all kinds. All we have to do is worry about us. We'll set our points target for the next three games of what we can get and we'll see where it goes from there.”

PNE will have one extra body back for this weekend’s trip to Millwall in the Championship, that of Liam Delap. The Manchester City loanee missed the last two games over the Easter weekend through injury but is back and raring to go.

Lowe said: “Liam Delap is back, he missed out the last couple of games because he had Covid, he got sent home on Friday morning against QPR. He came down for breakfast ill but he's back in the building, all negative and will be doing a bit of training.

"Ali is back on the grass today (Thursday). The likes of Browney, Greg, Emil, they won't be with us. Alan Browne could be anywhere between two and four weeks. He's having an injection today and hopefully that will smooth it over. Who knows, depending on the situation with the season, we'll find out how long he's going to be.”

Although Ali McCann is back in training, his won’t be featuring for the first team this weekend. The Northern Ireland international will need building back up and logistics might also keep him out, with PNE travelling a lot and unable to organise intense enough training session for him whilst also recovering their relatively thin crop as is.

Lowe said: "Matt Jackson (physio) would rip my head off if I tried to take him! It's definitely too soon but it's nice to have him back on the grass, full training with us. Next week, probably not. The training load won't be much.

"He might be available after the Blackburn game because that week building up to it, we go to Millwall, then we travel away to Swansea and then we have the game on Saturday. Barring anything crazy he would probably be back in the fold for Sheffield United.”