With the unbeaten start to his managerial career over, Oldham Athletic boss Lee Johnson believes Preston North End will be tough opposition as his side look to bounce back.
Latics travel to Deepdale for one of their games in hand, a Lancashire derby rearranged from February 26 because of their FA Cup fifth round replay against Everton.
North End’s victory over Athletic’s relegation rivals Scunthorpe United virtually guaranteed their League One survival, but with players’ career prospects on the line the Red Rose derby will be keenly contested.
“It is almost the ones with the best mind-sets that can deal with the pressure in this situation who need to play and perform,” said Johnson.
“Sometimes it can benefit them as they are not pent up and are able to play with more freedom.
“They will have players who are playing for their futures, as are ours, so we must make sure we don’t take them lightly and play the game before it is actually played.”
Johnson will have a large squad to choose from with 27 players training yesterday, while midfielder Lee Croft is likely to overcome his foot injury.
Preston appointed Simon Grayson in February – losing just three times to Oldham in 13 games during his managerial career – and have lost only twice in the nine games since then.
Despite varying levels of experience between the managers, the youngest manager in the Football League is keen to get over his first loss as quickly as possible.
“I know Simon Grayson and he will want to finish as high as he possibly can in the league,” added Johnson.
“I have been in football a long time and I am never going to have a managerial career when I never lost a game.
“Funnily enough when my dad went into Bristol City he had nine losses on the spin. I said to him how did he deal with that because I was feeling sick after one loss.”
Oldham have not lost to the Lilywhites at Deepdale this century but have only played once – last season’s entertaining 3-3 draw.
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