Swansea City bust-up behind Ryan Lowe as Preston North End test set out

It was a bit tasty the last time Preston North End met Swansea City, but manager Ryan Lowe says April’s bust-up is firmly behind him.

The Lilywhites were beaten 4-2 away from home back in April, but that doesn’t quite paint the full picture of the evening encounter. In the second half, Lowe got into a scrap with Swansea midfielder and goal scorer on the night, Joe Allen. A 30-man mass brawl ensued.

The pair were sent off, while since departed Preston defender Bambo Diaby was handed a retrospective four match ban. Swansea have replaced manager Russell Martin with Michael Duff since and Lowe is not expecting anything other than a tough challenge for his side on Saturday.

“Of course it’s water under the bridge,” said Lowe. “I have got nothing but massive respect for Swansea City Football Club, the players, the managing staff now and obviously Joe Allen - who played for Liverpool and as a red, I supported him.

“So, it’s well water under the bridge, definitely. There are no qualms from our side and the staff are different now. It’s a game of football and two teams who’ll be looking to get three points, of course, so hopefully we can put in a performance.”

And on Duff’s men, Lowe added: “They are probably a bit different, yeah. Michael will want to put his own stamp on it and have an end product - which I think Swansea did have last season, to an extent. But, they were more about passes; too many passes if you like. I don’t think Michael will want that.

“I think he will want an end product at the end of it. The games we have watched it’s so far, so good for him. He will have wanted more points, but you can see what he is trying to do. I played against his Cheltenham team and watched Barnsley a bit last season.

“They have got a good way and brand of football. He’s still got loads of good players at Swansea, as well - he will be thinking they are better ones than he’s had for the last couple of years. They are going to be a tough team to break down and hard to beat, but it’s a game we’re looking forward to.”