PNE head to Home Park on Saturday afternoon

Plymouth Argyle head coach Wayne Rooney is preparing his team to face a ‘very aggressive’ Preston North End on Saturday.

The Lilywhites, following consecutive home games against Coventry and Norwich, make the long trip down to Home Park. Rooney’s side occupy 21st spot after 11 games, with 10 of their 11 points having been collected on their own patch.

PNE have been improving under boss Paul Heckingbottom, though North End’s last league away win actually came at Home Park - back in mid-March. It’ll be two teams desperate for three points and Rooney knows the challenge Preston will provide.

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"I think they are a little bit different to what they have been over recent years,” said Rooney. “Normally, Preston have been a very functional team and always end up finishing around about mid-table in the past - but I think under the new manager they are very aggressive off the ball.

“We are expecting them to come and go man-for-man out of possession. They get the ball forward, they try to turn you and they get crosses in the box, which a lot of teams do. I'm expecting a very difficult game and we certainly need to be right at it."

Rooney added: "We need to take advantage of being at home. We have had good performances, good results and hopefully that's the same again tomorrow. I think losing two games in a row always brings an added pressure. That's normal at whatever level you play at. For us, it's important we try to stop that."