 Friday, 25th Jan 2008 10:14 "Through the chaos and noise of Wembley, walking up the steps, picking up the trophy, the flags and banners waving, and then sat next to my dad and two kids on the team bus, I felt that should have been Preston." Derby County v Preston North End So said Billy Davies recently in the Lancashire Evening Post. Obviously such a statement angered Rams fans however if it was meant to bury the hatchet at Deepdale it seems to have had the opposite effect with many Preston fans pouring scorn on Davies’s about turn. We can probably expect a few anti-Davies chants from the North End faithful on Saturday. Will Rams fans join in? Who knows? If they start any chants against another ex-manager however you can be sure no Rams fans would agree. Paul Simpson was a popular player during his time at Derby and many fans felt that Preston had the better deal when Simpson took over from Davies. Preston were soon top of the Championship – their highest league placing for 55 years however North End were unable to sustain their form and finished outside of the play off places. The Preston board then sold their best player in David Nugent and allowed Simpson little money to rebuild the team for another challenge. The inevitable bad start to the season saw Simpson sacked last November but that has failed to halt the slide. The club are currently on 27 points and in the relegation places – 4 points behind the Wendy’s. New manager Alan Irvine has moved to shore up his leaky defence by signing Aberdeen full-back Michael Hart. Hart is unlikely to feature this weekend however as he is recovering from injury. Preston’s form is patchy. They beat Watford and Scunthorpe at home recently however their last game was a dispiriting 3-1 defeat to Stoke at the Britannia. Irvine was annoyed that his team conceded from set pieces; He told the official website; “I was really disappointed to concede goals from set pieces because we had been working on defending them all through the week. We knew Stoke were big and strong and we would have to stand up to them at set plays. Given our poor showing from set plays, I doubt he’ll have to worry to much this weekend. Current Lilywhite’s squad Last five games Danger Men Neil Mellor is probably worth watching out for. He came off the bench against Watford and scored a good poachers goal to score a win for North End. Youl Mawene is likely to be playing. Can we not boo our former player of the season? I know it’s tempting and some say it puts the player off and therefore is a valid tactic but to me it has exactly the opposite effect. The Rams Despite only conceding one goal against Wednesday, you could feel the tension rise in the ranks of Derby fans every time the attack got near our box. Edworthy, Nyatanga, Davis and Leacock did not inspire confidence. Part of the problem is confidence. The players do not have it. They haven’t become poor players overnight but when you are down on confidence the desire not to make a mistake can make you do just that. If you lack confidence in your defensive partners, then the defence doesn’t play as a unit and is wide open to confident attack play. Darren Moore came on late in the game and did well. What’s happened to Michael Johnson? He’s not gone to the Wendy’s yet so why no place on the bench at least? We may have a new keeper for Saturday if the problems with Roy Caroll can be ironed out. Price played well on Tuesday and hasn’t really done much wrong apart from his woeful distribution. Bywater seems to be out for a while. One player we won’t see tomorrow is Mile Sterjovski. Although we now have a work permit, Paul Jewell says the earliest we will see him is the Manchester City game. Craig Fagan is suspended and Giles Barnes may not feature due to illness. Mick’s team: Caroll, Edworthy, Leacock, Davis, Nyatanga, Savage, Ghaly, Pearson, Robert, Miller, Villa. What the bookies think Karl Hawley is the favoured Preston striker at 3/1. Information for travelling fans Driving: Preston to Derby is about 110 miles. Take the M6 then head south until J16 or J15 (not much in it) then A500 to the A50 through Stoke. Follow the A50 to Derby and stay on it until the turn off for Alvaston. There will be traffic around Alvaston however if you stay on London Rd you can get to the parking areas described below. Parking: It used to be at the old Wilmorten College site however that is now a building site so away fans should park at Catalyst on London Rd opposite the Navigation pub. It’s about 10-15 minutes from the ground. Don’t be tempted to park at Pride Park shopping centre unless you fancy being clamped. You can also park for a £5 at the hospital further up London Rd near the hospital and the Railway station. Another alternative is to take the Derby Ring road towards the City Centre and pass the exit for Pride Park on Brian Clough Way (A52) and head for Pentagon Island. Take the first exit and turn left and after a few hundred yards you will come to The Cattle Market Car Park. It’s about 10 minutes walk to the ground from here. Mick’s Prediction I’m hoping for a win!
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