Neil is only looking up

WITHOUT a win in six, and having lost their past four matches, Preston are refusing to look towards the bottom of the Championship as Christmas edges nearer.

They host Bolton this evening and a win would put Alex Neil’s side within touching distance of the top six.

After losing his job at Norwich in March, having been relegated the previous season from the Premier League, Neil is back on the trail of the big time.

And he is hoping their recent run will be quickly forgotten.

“We’ve gone back to basics, back to what we did in the first few weeks I was here,” said Neil yesterday.

“Everybody goes through stages like this in a season. Hopefully we’ve had ours and we can get back on track.”

Preston have not scored in their past two matches, losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa at the start of the month and then 3-0 at Ipswich before the international break but, currently 14th in the table, three points this evening would bring them within two points of the play-off places – at least ahead of the weekend’s matches.

It is a game of equal importance for Bolton, who know a win will take them out of the bottom three if Burton fail to beat secondplaced Sheffield United.

“For me, it’s bigger than the outcome of one game,” said Trotters midfielder Karl Henry.

“To get a result on the road, to potentially climb out of the relegation zone, would be massive. It could have a huge impact on our season. ”

Kick-off: TV:

SHEFFIELD UNITED can return to the top of the Championship tonight but will not be taking Burton, who are one place above the drop zone, lightly.

“Burton is the start of a big period for us,” said Blades manager Chris Wilder. “We’ll give them 100 per cent respect when we go there.”