Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe calls on fans' backing to help them against Blackpool in Lancashire derby

North End welcome their local rivals to Deepdale this afternoon, 12:30pm, looking for redemption after losing in the reverse fixture earlier on in this campaign.

But with a packed out PR1 expected, Lowe is under no illusions as to what it means to the Lilywhites faithful. He’s called for the supporters to get behind his side and to help influence the result.

He said: “This is a local derby where we need them to be our 12th man. We need to make more noise than them, rightly so, we should. It plays a big part. You saw last time when we played them at home, it was bouncing and then Cam scores the goal and it gets even better.

"We know we're in for a fight, we know we're in for a tough game because they're fighting for their lives but we want to make sure we're calm. Fire in the bellies and cool heads. The fans are definitely going to play a big part.

“I know it means a lot to our supporters and I know there are bragging rights at stake. I know there is a bit of needle in there. Both clubs, more importantly ours, want the three points and want to win. I'm no different. I've said it many times, once I become the manager of a football club I become embedded in what they do. My focus will be on getting the team right to hopefully get a result on Saturday afternoon for our fans.”

Despite losing 4-2 last time out against Blackpool, that game has not been in the forefront of Lowe’s mind.

Instead, the PNE boss is focusing more on their recent form and what the game could hold now, with a change of manager and plenty of change in the league table since then.

“I haven't thought about the defeat at Bloomfield Road, it's so long gone and there's a different manager there,” he said. “I thought we played well in that game, we were just unfortunate. The goals we conceded were very sloppy.

"In terms of that, we've obviously progressed since that game and Blackpool have been a bit worse off. We just look at the last few games and where they've been. They've had a good game against QPR, a loss against Coventry.

"They're the only ones you can look at under Mick McCarthy. They've changed things a little bit away. We'd love to put it right that we lost when mistakes cost us but it's just a fresh game of football.”