Robbo working extra hard for PNE goals

The 21-year-old striker has notched twice in successive games after being brought on as a substitute by Preston manager Simon Grayson.

After entering the fray as a half-time replacement for Bailey Wright against Charlton a week last Tuesday, Robinson immediately made his presence felt by scoring his first ever Championship goal.

His strike into the roof of the net at full stretch after being teed up by Adam Reach in the 52nd minute would prove to be the winner in a 2-1 victory for North End at Deepdale.

And having waited all season to open his league goalscoring account, Robinson struck again in the very next game at Cardiff City on Saturday.

Unfortunately, the loan star’s smart finish, where he allowed the ball to roll across his body before sidefooting into the bottom corner from the edge of the area, turned out to be a mere consolation for North End as they were beaten 2-1.

Despite the disappointment of losing against the Bluebirds, Robinson has been pleased on a personal note, especially with the way he has found his feet in front of goal in the second tier of English football.

He believes his recent goalscoring form is a result of all the extra work he has been doing on the training ground at the club – and also away from the club in his own spare time.

Robinson – who is on loan from Premier League outfit Aston Villa – was the subject of an interesting feature on popular Sky Sports football show Soccer AM.

In the clip, he received one-on-one tuition from Scottish striker Allan Russell, who used to play for St Mirren and Kilmarnock and is currently attached to US club Orange County Blues.

He has set up a coaching company called “Superior Striker”.

Russell aims to provide private individually-tailored striker-specific training sessions.

He started helping Robinson earlier this season when the youngster was struggling for form while on loan at fellow Championship outfit Bristol City.

The pair have continued to work together since Robinson left Ashton Gate and returned for a third stint at North End in January, after spending most of last season on loan at Deepdale.

Robinson admits he has benefitted greatly from the extra coaching he has received away from his normal routine at PNE.

“I have been working with a guy called Allan Russell,” said Robinson.

“He has been working with a lot of top strikers and attacking players.

“He approached me while I was on loan at Bristol City because he realised that I was not playing much.

“We got it going and I don’t do it a lot, but I try to fit it in when I can around training and matches. It’s one-on-one work and what we do depends on what he wants to put me through.

“The one featured on Soccer AM was about quick feet on the edge of the box – trying to get your finish off from the edge of the penalty area.

“We work on stuff inside the box, such as sharp movements and one-touch finishing.

“He has been really helping me and has been watching my games. I think he has really helped me a lot.

“I always do extra work here at Preston anyway.

“I do lots of work with Joe Garner and Daniel Johnson. We have little competitions.

“I’ve always done extra work – when I was at Villa and Bristol City.”

Robinson is hoping to make it three goals on the spin when North End welcome automatic promotion chasers Brighton to Deepdale this weekend.

“Hopefully I can get some more goals,” he said.

“I want to help the team get wins and at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if I am not scoring as long as we are winning.

“The main thing is to get the wins, but if I can keep getting the goals , I will be really happy.

“It was great to get my first Championship goal against Charlton.

“With the way the season has gone, I probably would have wanted it a bit earlier.

“Obviously, we were disappointed on Saturday with the result, but it was good to get on the scoresheet again so I’m getting there.”

Brighton arrive in the North West of England oozing with confidence after back-to-back 4-0 victories.

They ran riot at Robinson’s old club Bristol City at Ashton Gate and then continued that form against Leeds United at the Amex Stadium on Monday night.

“They have got some really good players and are a good football team,” said Robinson.

“That’s why they are up there and one of the favourites to win promotion.

“I have seen that they have won their last two games 4-0 but there have been teams who have done more than that coming into games against us and the lads have ended up not conceding a goal.

“I don’t think we should look into it too much .

“We should just play our game and look to get at them.”