Ryan Lowe's wish for Blackburn Rovers derby day with Preston North End 'right in the mix'

Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe wants his players to stand up and be counted on derby day, against a new-look Blackburn Rovers.

The Lilywhites face their Lancashire rivals on the back of three league wins, while sitting level with sixth placed Coventry City. It's Rovers' third match since John Eustace replaced Jon Dahl Tomasson in the Ewood Park hot seat.

Blackburn lost at Eustace's former club, Birmingham City, in midweek while North End edged Middlesbrough at Deepdale. More joy on home soil is now the obvious target for PNE, but Lowe is not taking the 16th placed opponents lightly.

"We are coming up against a team who've just changed their manager, it's a local derby and they've still got some fantastic players," said Lowe. "They haven't been going as well as they would've probably liked, but we have to worry about us. We are not taking anything for granted. I know it's a rivalry, but rivalry aside John has gone in and he's a fantastic coach and a good guy. We've got to make sure we are on it - all go and everyone with their foot at the pump, wanting to win. We want to make sure we do the right things and get the bragging rights."

Lowe, who was at St Andrew's on Tuesday, added: "I obviously have my notes on stuff I saw and what I thought, but I will keep that to myself. What Jon was trying to do was play a brand and philosophy that can get you up the leagues, but also shoot you in the foot can't it? That is not being disrespectful to Jon. Then, John has obviously come in now and is bit more direct and wants to play his way. That is fine. I never question anyone's identity or style; everyone has got their own, different ways. It's about winning, but you can definitely see the shift, of course."

North End nicked all three points in the reverse fixture, courtesy of Liam Lindsay's last gasp header in front of a packed out away end. Retaining those bragging rights is the aim for Preston, who will be wary of the surprises derby matches can throw up. Lowe does not overly subscribe to the view that form goes out of the window in these contests, though.

"I think you still need to have form, of course," said Lowe. "Listen, I would rather come off the back of three wins, going into a derby - which we are. You've still got to have your form, your belief, work your patterns of play, be brave and play in the right areas. We need to be ruthless in both boxes, so we will stick to what we've been doing of late and obviously tinker one or two things - with the change of shape from John. But, that's fine, because it happens every week. We will give it our best to try and get a positive result."

It's one game at a time for North End, who take on Coventry and Hull City in their two fixtures after Saturday. The Sky Blues and Tigers are on the same points (48) as Preston at present. PNE will go up against two other teams in the play-off chasing pack, but Lowe wants a level headedness in camp - with North End having already reached their February points target.

"Key stage of the season?" pondered Lowe. "I don't know, we just want to get the five games out of the way and we are three in. Blackburn is the next one and it's obviously exciting for the fans and everyone associated - a local derby. We'll then turn our attention to Coventry, who are by us yeah - and Hull after that. But, the most important one is the next one and that's Blackburn. You look at the results up and down the country and if we can overachieve our target - we're right in the mix of it now - it'll give us a better opportunity going into the other two games."