Football
Liam Lindsay Ready for Tough Championship Start as Preston Push for Promotion
Preston defender Liam Lindsay is optimistic about the team's promotion chances following successful pre-season victories over Liverpool and Fiorentina.
Image Credits: Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images
Preston defender Liam Lindsay is quietly confident the Lilywhites have enough quality in their locker to push for promotion this season.
Pre-Season Success Breeds Optimism
After impressive victories over Liverpool and Fiorentina in pre-season, it’s little surprise the experienced Scottish centre-back is hungry to take momentum into the start of the Championship season in less than a fortnight’s time.
Preston kicks off their new league campaign against Sheffield United at Deepdale on Friday 9th August in the first SKY Sports’ showcase game of the new season.
Lindsay, now in his fourth full season with the Lilywhites, is chomping at the bit to lock horns with the Blades, back in the second tier after their Premier League relegation last term.
“We’ve got a tough start to the season, I think the first five games is a really tough start,” Lindsay told SportsBoom.com.
“But I don’t think we’re far off at all being ready for the season.”
“They might be a few players who need to get 90 minutes under their belt, but pre-season is just about getting minutes under the belt before the start of the season and a big start against Sheffield United.”
New Signings Add Depth to the Squad
Preston signed Iceland international Stefan Thordardson and former Leeds United winger Sam Greenwood in the summer.
Lindsay, 28, who earnt himself a permanent deal in Lancashire after a successful loan spell, believes the duo have been welcome additions to the squad as they look to push on having narrowly missed out on promotion last term.
Personal Goals for the Season
“The two new lads have come in and made a good impression, they’ve certainly brought something different to the team,” reflected Lindsay, who is also keen to contribute more goals to the cause.
“I scored three goals last season, but I’d like to score more this season.”
“I’d like to score at least five goals this season and contribute more to winning games.”
“It’s been good playing the best teams like Fiorentina and Liverpool in pre-season because it puts you in good stead for the new season.”
Image Credits: Hairbond
“We beat them, so that’s a good habit to have. We’ll keep going before the start.”
“We’ve had a couple of results against sides we should be beating, but then we’ve had wins against some teams we probably shouldn’t be winning against.”
“But overall, it’s been enjoyable, and we’ve still got a couple of games to go before the season starts.”
“We’ll try and win them and take some momentum into the start of the new season.”
Final Friendly versus Everton
Preston faces Premier League outfit Everton in their final pre-season test before the serious business starts.
“Everton will obviously be a tough test against Premier League opposition.”
“That will have its own challenges, especially defensively. But we’ll need to be at it.”
“There’s still things we can tidy up, but we’re in good shape.”
“You’re always looking at that first game and starting the season well.”
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.