Ryan Lowe drops early Preston North End selection hint for Southampton clash

Ryan Lowe has admitted he will consider freshening his side up for Preston North End’s clash with Southampton on Wednesday night.

The Lilywhites have been afforded an extra days rest from their 1-1 draw with Millwall last weekend. North End have a double game week with a trip to Hull City on Saturday and the short turnaround between games could impact Lowe’s thinking when naming his next team.

Jordan Storey, Ben Whiteman and Duane Holmes all came back into the starting XI against Millwall, with Milutin Osmajic and Alan Browne dropping to the bench whilst Jack Whatmough was ruled out through injury. All five of the permitted substitutes were used and despite not finding that all important second goal, the likes of Browne, Osmajic and Liam Millar could be in for starts against Russell Martin’s side.

"There are always things to build on," said Lowe. "We have to move on quickly now, keep learning, doing the right things - never get too high and never get too low. You’ve got those players who came on to the pitch today and of course, rotation is going to be on your mind. You are coming up against another good team in Southampton. We are at home and we want to make sure we put the game plan together. Hopefully the lads go and take it to fruition."

Ched Evans came off the bench after a long absence and could be one player that comes into Lowe’s thinking. Ben Woodburn also replaced goal scorer Mads Frokjaer in the final six minutes of regulation time.

Ali McCann, Emil Riis, Calvin Ramsay and Whatmough are all unavailable for selection due to injury. Andrew Hughes was described as 'not far away again' by Lowe last week but he is being cautious with his approach as he does not want to aggravate his calf injury.