Unbelievable: Preston North End manager delivers a strong message to Leicester City ahead of tomorrow’s game during his press conference — here’s what he said.

Paul Heckingbottom is hoping for another strong showing from his Preston North End side when they travel to Leicester City on Good Friday.

Championship action returns following the March international break, during which several North End players were away on national duty. Those who remained at the club, meanwhile, continued training and rehabilitation.

“It’s just totally different for all the different players,” Heckingbottom said. “We’ve got some who are doing their rehab, coming back from injuries. It gives them more time.

We’ve got three of the international boys who are away; we’ve still not seen them yet. Some are still on a plane now.

We’ve got a couple of lads who came back, and the team was in yesterday. We’ve been able to get a little bit of work in before this game. But the other boys have been here all the time.

We’ve had some good training days and a couple of days off as well in between. It’s really difficult trying to do the work and plan with players; we’re not going to see them until we get to the hotel tonight.”

Injuries have also affected selection. “Ali’s not ready,” Heckingbottom admitted. “Robbie, he came back, even though he played that game, scored a penalty, he’s reported a little bit of soreness in his hamstring, so he’s not fit, and we’re going to look after him.

He’ll not be featuring this weekend. Langy is that little bit closer. Jamal Lewis has had an ankle operation two weeks on Monday, so he’ll be out for quite a while with that.”

Preston face a Leicester side in the Championship’s bottom three, a scenario likely to create a fiery atmosphere. “They’ve got a high calibre of player in amongst the squad,” Heckingbottom said.

“They’re just in a difficult situation. So, can we capitalise on the things where we think we can get the upper hand on them? But likewise, we always know we’ve got to be switched on for those players who’ve played at the top of the game.

They’re fighting for their lives. Gary’s sole job is to make sure they stay up. That’s their focus. But we’ve got to enjoy those challenges, going away to a team and a crowd that’s really driven to get that result.

We’ve got to try and turn that to our advantage by putting in a top performance, which makes it a difficult game for them.”

Preston will hope to exploit any openings while remaining wary of the Foxes’ quality, aiming for a performance that balances caution with ambition.