PRESTON ATHLETIC manager Stevie Myatt has admitted that his team is a "decent" side ahead of their clash with Spartans at the Pennypit tomorrow.
"We are not yet at the level of consistency to be a team challenging for the title," said Myatt.
However, that in no way indicates that Preston are inferior to Spartans as their 2-1 win against the Capital club towards the end of last season could
have been considered as the defeat which denied Spartans the Premier Division title.
Preston drew 1-1 with Dalbeattie Star last Saturday in a game which Myatt thought his side should have won. "I was really disappointed in the end," said Myatt. "Dalbeattie showed more flair and were better in possession although we defended very well. We were not so good going forward but we earned a penalty from which we took the lead as the result of a good passing move.
"We were 1-0 ahead at half time although I said to the players at the break I thought that was fortunate. I emphasised that we had to play better in the second half and we could have scored another goal soon after the interval.
"Unfortunately, with 15 minutes to go we conceded a free kick some 25 yards out and our defensive wall did not stand strong which allowed Lewis Sloan to hit the ball with venom straight through it. Having defended so well in open play the goal was a real disappointment."
Preston have been drawn away to East Stirlingshire on the synthetic surface at Ochilview in the Scottish Cup and Myatt had his side playing Queen's Park at Lesser Hampden earlier in the week in preparation for their big game in two weeks.
"We have slight injury doubts surrounding our captain Craig Scott and midfielder Michael Campion and they will both be given late fitness tests," said Myatt.
"I do not know if Spartans will be coming to us on a high or a low tomorrow. They were beaten by Coldstream and then built themselves up to two high-profile games against Pollok in the Scottish Cup.
"They had crowds of about a thousand in both games and now they will be playing in front of just over a hundred.
"I do know that Mike Lawson and Sam Lynch will have them thinking very professionally and Spartans are still the benchmark within our league. The results they achieved against Pollok do not come by accident, they have to be worked for.
"I am generally really pleased with our performance although I would like us to convert more chances. That will come and I am sure we will score a lot of goals in a game very soon."
Myatt is optimistic that his recent signing Craig Manson will compliment Stuart Miller who has already notched five goals this season. He has also signed Spartans striker Danny Noon although it is unlikely he will feature tomorrow as he is now a fire fighter and not available.
"It is a home game for us so we will go at Spartans and try to get a good result in the build-up to our Scottish Cup tie against East Stirling," he added.
Meanwhile, Spartans joint manager Mike Lawson reflected on his team's 1-0 historic win against top junior side Pollok in the first round of the Scottish Cup last weekend.
"Over the course of the two games I thought that Spartans created the better chances although Pollok maybe dominated possession," said Lawson. "There were times, especially in the first game, that I thought Pollok were going to overwhelm us yet in the second game we coped with everything without putting on our best performance.
"It was as big a win as beating a Scottish League side and soon we play Annan Athletic in the next round and they will be very motivated to beat us because of the rivalry between the two clubs.
"However, first we have Preston Athletic as opponents and they started the season on fire before losing a couple of games.
"I am expecting them to be challenging for the league because they have added some good players to their squad. They beat us towards the end of last season and this will be another big game.
"Craig Manson will be wanting to prove something against his former club. I think that it will be quite a feisty contest and there is a lot to play for."
Spartans captain Stewart Fowlie is nursing a back injury while midfielder Alex King, who was sent off last Saturday against Pollok, is available. Kenny Young and James Hair return to the squad and Scott Livingstone is also in contention.
The action kicks off at the Pennypit at the earlier time of 1pm.
The full article contains 805 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
