Derby night awaits PNE at Ewood Park Ryan Lowe’s first trip to Blackburn Rovers with Preston North End was special; Needless to say, he was keen to create another memory on Friday night.
The Lilywhites won 4-1 in snowy East Lancashire last December, with Ben Woodburn and Ben Whiteman getting on the scoresheet while Ched Evans scored two second-half goals for the Yellows.
With Blackpool relegated and Burnley promoted last season, Rovers provide PNE with a derby solution for the 2023/24 campaign.
With around six thousand away fans set to support North End at Ewood Park, Lowe’s motivation to achieve a result was naturally high.
“Look, we can’t thank the fans enough,” Lowe said.
“I think this season we’ve definitely seen a change in the home fans.
And the way they behave with the players, they deserve praise.
The away fans were amazing, they spent all their hard earned money.
The fact that over six thousand people left the field for the Blackburn derby was huge and they deserved these moments.
“That’s what we need to make sure we do.
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.give them moments to go celebrate.
That is one of our driving ambitions, to send the fans home happy.
We speak about it all the time and mention it on a daily basis because, without them, we are no-one are we?
I am looking forward to seeing them behind that goal, definitely.
” On Jon Dahl Tomasson’s men, Lowe added: “They are very intricate in the way they play.
I think the game at Norwich was probably a little bit different, in terms of what’s going on there.
But, the fact is, if you are off it then Blackburn Rovers can hurt any team in the division, let alone Norwich.
We know this and we are equipped for it.
“We will treat Blackburn the same way we treat every team, which is with respect but without fear.
Derbies are always thrilling and have an edge, but this is just another one.
” We need to make sure we conduct our business the right way and I have every confidence in the team that they can do that.
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