'Of course' - The Preston North End dressing room mood heading into Southampton clash

Preston North End's camp is full of positivity, as the Lilywhites prepare to make the long trip down to Southampton.

Ryan Lowe's side have lost just one of their last nine games, collecting 18 points in the process - to plunge themselves into top six contention. Wednesday night's encounter at St Mary's promises to be a tough assignment, but midfielder Ali McCann believes the squad is in a good place.

"Yeah, I think so," said McCann. "I didn't play, but we gave them a right good game last time and should've won - it was unlucky at the end. But, again, I think we were on top of them in the second half and coming away, we should've won the game. So, there's no reason why we can't do that down there. We knew we were on such a poor run over Christmas time and we've turned it around recently. It is a testament to the lads, fans and everyone pulling in the same direction."

One player who will head into the clash with confidence high is Liam Lindsay. The defender was Man of the Match in last weekend's draw against play-off rivals, Hull City. There is now another potent attack for him and his team mates to thwart, but the Scot sees plenty of determination in North End's side and is embracing the play-off chase.

"Of course, confidence is high in the group," said Lindsay. "Especially being unbeaten in seven - as long as we keep doing the right things, I'm sure we'll keep getting points. I think we will go about our business quite quietly and see where we are. With how we played in the game here (against Southampton), I think we did more than enough to win it. So, if we put a performance like that again, I don't see any reason why we can't pick up three points."

And against the possession-heavy Saints, manager Ryan Lowe is looking for his team to nail their pressing game - like North End did at home to Ipswich Town, away to Coventry and, at times, against the Tigers last time out.

Lowe told iFollow PNE: “That’s what we’ve asked them to do of late. They’ve done it for large parts of the season, sometimes it’s a fear factor of whether or not to go in. We want them to go in and take the ball - it puts you back on the counter. You’ve got to be really clever when you do it, though. You can’t jump all over the park because then you can get picked off.

"That’s the stuff you have to look at and you have to realise, when you’re coming up against good teams. From the Premier League right the way down, anyone can get picked off in any division because there’s some good footballers. We’ve got to make sure we’re disciplined in our work. But when we do it, it looks fantastic."