MX23RW : Friday, January 31 09:13:35| >> :120:55703:55703:

Alex Neil: 'Preston North End wrongly written off for promotion'

Alex Neil admits that he was keen to change Preston North End's style of play in his first season at the helm, which he hopes will end with promotion come next May.

Preston North End manager Alex Neil has claimed that his side have wrongly been "disregarded" by outsiders as they seek promotion to the English top flight.

The Lilywhites are one of just fives sides in the division to have never played in the Premier League, last competing at the very top in 1961.

Neil has already turned Preston into potential promotion contenders since taking over from Simon Grayson in the summer, however, taking 15 points from the first eight games to guide his side into fourth place.

In an interview with The Guardian, the former Hamilton Academical and Norwich City boss outlined his intention to change neutrals' perspective of North End.

"I wanted to change the style of play from the previous regime – which had good success at this club, so there's no mocking that, but I felt looking at the squad there was enough energy and quality to go and play differently," he said.

"When the opposition have got the ball, we want it as quickly as possible. We don't sit off the game and let them have it... make them make mistakes. Hurt them in the transitions. When we've got it, we want to rotate it quickly, don't give them a chance to get set and press you, and try to be as aggressive with our passing as we can.

"The issue with the club, from an outside perspective, is that we're one of the clubs that hasn't been in the modern-day Premier League. "Because we haven't been there, we get disregarded to an extent."

Preston, who have won each of their last two league games, take on Millwall at Deepdale on Saturday afternoon in their next outing.

ID:307908: cacheID:307908:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2626:
Written by
Daniel Lewis
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Alex Neil poses with his Manager of the Month award for September 2016
Read Next:
Alex Neil "delighted" with Cardiff scalp
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds29179353193460
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd29186540211958
3Burnley29151223692757
4Sunderland291510442241855
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom291014538251344
6Middlesbrough29128947361144
7Blackburn RoversBlackburn29126113228442
8Bristol City29101183734341
9Watford29125124041-141
10Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds29118104245-341
11Norwich CityNorwich29109104842639
12Coventry CityCoventry29108113938138
13Queens Park RangersQPR2991193237-538
14Millwall29910102826237
15Preston North EndPreston2981383236-437
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2999113343-1036
17Swansea CitySwansea2997133240-834
18Cardiff CityCardiff29710123344-1131
19Hull City2978143038-829
20Stoke CityStoke29611122636-1029
21Portsmouth2978143652-1629
22Derby CountyDerby2976163240-827
23Luton TownLuton2975172948-1926
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth29410152762-3522


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!