"I know what I'm good at": Preston North End captain Tom Clarke on playing at right back

That is likely to be the case again when Blackburn Rovers visit Deepdale on Saturday.

PNE boss Alex Neil has turned to Clarke in a bid to sure up a leaky defence meaning it is his defensive strengths and not what he offers going forwards that are deemed more important at the moment.

“I know right back has changed from years back,” said the skipper, more accustomed to playing at the heart of the defence.

“It’s more of a right winger but listen, I know what I’m good at, I know what I’m capable of and I know the attributes that I can bring to the team.

“The manager has asked me to play there and I want to play in every game.

“I’m happy to do a job there for the team.

“Hopefully I can keep doing that and hopefully we can keep getting the wins to take us up the table.”

PNE welcome Rovers on Saturday on the back of a seven-game unbeaten.

That has lifted Neil’s side up to 18th in the Championship after a poor start to the campaign.

Victory would see the Lilywhites move within five points of their local rivals who are ninth on their return to the second tier but North End are still only two points outside the relegation zone.

“It is crazy how tight it is,” Clarke said.

“We’ve done well with the start we had to be where we are now to set us up to hopefully get some good results and push up the league.

“But if you look behind you it’s still so tight so we can’t let our guard down and we need to keep on it and keep pushing.

“I thought the performance at Bristol City last time out was brilliant from start to finish.

“They threw some balls into our box late on but we were comfortable.

“We probably should have scored more but we’ll take that confidence into what is another big game.”