Preston full back Conor McLaughlin joined Shrewsbury on a two month loan in order to see out the remainder of the season playing regular football in the latest stage of his recovery from a broken leg suffered last season.
McLaughlin has made two appearances for the Northern Ireland under 21s and has been tracked by Shrewsbury for a few weeks. His final game in a Preston shirt this season came in the reserves side win over Manchester City in a game which will be remembered as Carlos Tevez’s comeback from his self imposed absence.
McLaughlin has targeted promotion with Shrewsbury and praised the quality of football currently being played in League Two. “I’ve played twice against Southend in the FA Cup this season and they were strong opposition, and I’ve checked out Shrewsbury’s form. They’re playing well, and I’d love to be part of their promotion party” said the Northern Irishman. He was also happy to have played against one of the biggest names in world football in Carlos Tevez, describing the game as “an experience in itself”. The game was surrounded by a huge media presence by reserve team standards and Preston’s 3-1 victory in front of the media will have provided the reserves with a rare boost in a disappointing season for the Lancashire club.
Shrewsbury boss Graham Turner was full of praise for his latest acquisition describing him as “a utility player, he can play in either full back position, he can play in midfield as well and he likes to go forward.”
The Shrews have been playing well this season and are in a good position for promotion at the end of the season. McLaughlin will provide cover in the position they seem thinnest though. Injury to Joe Jacobson has left them struggling at full back and McLaughlin will slot in straight away to fill that gap.
Stockport County managed to avoid relegation this time around as well after securing a 1-1 draw against Braintree Town in the Blue Square Premier league. This draw now means that the club can relax over the next two games of the season. Stockport County will be facing Tamworth and Hayes & Yeading in the remaining two matches of the season.
Even though both the clubs are fighting against relegation, Stockport County have managed to stop the rot this season. Joe Connor has said that he is extremely delighted about the prospect of staying in the division for another season. Now, he hopes that the club will finish the remainder of the season in a much better way now that they have been relieved of the pressure.
If results go their way, Stockport County could find themselves in the 15th position, which is quite significant considering the relegation troubles they faced earlier this season. However, there is a possibility that they could also be down at the 17th position.
Joe Connor has said that the club should be focusing on winning the remaining two matches of the season because it would certainly elevate their position of the table, which would be respectable.
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Preston North End manager Graham Westley has said that he is extremely happy with the performance of his team in the match against Exeter City recently. Ian Hume scored the two goals in the 2-1 win over Exeter City recently. The win is the first Preston North End have had in the last five matches.
As result, they still remain in touch with the play-off position, although that likelihood has been reducing for the last few matches now. Preston are currently a massive 10 points behind sixth placed Carlisle United, while they will be facing the likes of Bury and Barnsley in the next few matches.
Ian Hume squad after just 11 min on the clock after a cross from Danny Mayor. However, Liam Sercombe equalised for Exeter City just a few minutes later. Just when it seemed that it was going to be yet another disappointment for new Preston North End manager Graham Westley, Ian Hume scored his second goal of the night with a delicate finish. Artur Krysiak failed to collect the long ball from Thorsten Stuckmann, which Ian Hume promptly despatched into the back of the net.
“I am more pleased with the performance than the result. The players showed a tremendous work ethic and a lot of desire and commitment to go about their work in the right way. You can see they wanted the points and they made up their mind they were going to go and get them. We have been on the back foot and that can happen when you are a side that are used to posting negative results,” Westley said after the match. Preston have won just one match in the last five, but will be hoping that this victory helps them in some confidence for the upcoming matches.
Shrewsbury Town are one of the clubs looking to get promoted into the League One of English football. They are currently in the League Two division of English football. They are one of the promotion contenders, although the possibility of Shrewsbury Town getting into the League One appear difficult indeed.
However, Shrewsbury Town can easily look at the possibility of getting promotion this season through playoffs and it seems that they are targeting just that. They have strengthened their squad massively by bringing in Preston full-back Conor McLaughlin. The Northern Ireland under 21 player has recently made his international debut and will be a massive boost for Shrewsbury Town.
He has been signed on a two-month loan deal from Preston North end. He has been slowly recovering from the broken leg he suffered last season. It is one of the reasons for this loan move to benefit all the parties involved. Shrewsbury Town can look at the possibility of getting into the play-offs with his experience, while the player will get regular playing time at Shrewsbury Town. Preston North End can also benefit if their player improves as a result of this continuous playing in the first-team.
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Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has said that he has given up on the deal to sign Preston North End player Paul Coutts. The Preston midfielder has been linked with Peterborough United for quite some time now. Paul Coutts has also played for current Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson two seasons ago. Hence, both parties are interested in coming to a deal, but it seems that Preston North end were not interested in selling the player. After announcing that Peterborough United were out of the running to sign Paul Coutts, Darragh MacAnthony said that the valuations of Preston North End were too high.
Peterborough United are looking to strengthen their team after they have received a huge boost in finances through the sale of Ryan Bennett. Ryan Bennett departed to Norwich city in the January transfer window. Paul Coutts has been questioned by Preston manager Graham Westley recently, which has put his future at Preston into doubt. However, it is not seem to have prevented Preston North End from being firm on their valuations of the player. Peterborough United are looking to strengthen their team after suffering a poor run of form, which has resulted in fans disapproval of the club’s attitude recently.
“We’ve enquired, the manager’s pushed for us to enquire. But with the numbers we’ve been given back, it’s not going to happen. No disrespect to the player or the club but we don’t see value in the deal,” MacAnthony told in a recent interview given to BBC. Portsmouth defeated Peterborough United 3-0 to add more pressure on Darren Ferguson. Paul Coutts has so far made 72 appearances for Preston North End. Following the collapse of the deal, it now seems highly unlikely that Paul Coutts will be returning to Peterborough where he made 60 appearances.
Preston North End manager Graham Westley has said that he could not be more than satisfied after the team’s impressive performance in the match against Hartlepool United.
The spectacular defensive display by Preston North End gave the first win for Graham Westley as the Preston North End manager. After the match, Graham Westley said that the win was possible because of the impressive performance levels that the team has been showing in training and also because of the fitness levels of the players. Graham Westley was very much busy during the January transfer window by bringing in nine players during the month.
It seems that the arrival of this new players is definitely starting to pay off after Preston North end achieved their first win under Graham Westley. The League One club are currently in the 13th position in the table. Their recent run of poor results has meant that Graham Westley was just getting to understand the pressure of having to manage a club like Preston North end.
The winner against Hartlepool United comes at a major time for Graham Westley. Hartlepool United will be extremely disappointed to lose against Preston North end, as it destroys their hopes of getting into the play-off position.
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There is bad news for Preston as their key defender Conor Mclaughlin has suffered a major ankle injury where he managed to dislocate his ankle and fracture his fibula.
This unfortunate accident took place during his last match on Saturday. Preston are already struggling to make a hold in the Championship table, currently at the foot of the ranking table. To add to this misfortune, Conor is unlikely to be available for quite a while now.
It means bringing in a new player on to the field or bringing about a change in the strategy. Losing a key defender like Conor Mclaughlin has disappointed the boss Phil Brown who feels bad to see that such a vital and hot prospect for the team now has to be on the sidelines for quite some time.
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Immediately after taking over control as the Preston North End chairman, Peter Ridsdale, has sacked manager Phil Brown after the poor run of results has seen them struggled to qualify for the automatic promotion spot. They are currently outside the play-off position in the League one and this is well behind Preston North end’s hopes of returning back to the Championship in the first attempt itself. Preston North end were relegated from the championship last season and Phil Brown took charge of the club last season in a very difficult position.
He has been unable to bring in the required changes at the club. As a result, they have just one victory in more than 10 matches. It is a run that has seen them struggle to even make it into the play-off position. The club are now five points behind the final team in the play-offs position and it seems that Peter Ridsdale has decided to act pretty quickly in order to bring back any hope of returning to the Championship as quickly as possible. However, many have criticised the decision by Peter Ridsdale to sack the manager, who seems to have performed quite well in very difficult circumstances.
Phil Brown was initially appointed to save the club from relegation, but they were in a very bad situation in January 2011 that it would have been impossible for even Sir Alex Ferguson to save Preston North End from relegation. “Phil Brown joined the club in January 2011 with the objective of trying to ensure that we could maintain our status in the Championship.
Regrettably, this did not happen and the club were relegated to League One. Following relegation we had hoped that we would be in a position to compete for an immediate return to the Championship but, after a promising start, we have only won one of our last 11 league games and we are out of all three cup competitions,” read a statement.
Preston North End manager Phil Brown has said that he is hopeful that his club wwill extend goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann’s contract until January. Goalkeeper Stuckmann is on a short-term deal with Preston North End, but has proved to be extremely successful for the club so far. Stuckmann’s two appearances for Preston this season seems to have been more than enough to convince Phil Brown that he is good enough to deserve a contract up until New Year.
Speaking to the media regarding the contract situation, Phil Brown said “The good thing is that the current contract which Thorsten has carries us beyond the current loan window, which shuts in a week. Hopefully we will add an extension, that would take us into the early January transfer window – when we can extend it again. After his fantastic performances in the last two games, we’d be stupid not to extend his deal.” The Preston betting markets suggest that a contract extension will be offered.
Preston North End have been struggling in recent weeks, having suffered three defeats on the bounce, with the latest defeats coming in the FA Cup against Southend and in the League against Bury. They are only seven points ahead of the relegation zone, and the presence of Thorsten Stuckmann in between the sticks is expected to add a lot of strength to the team.
Despite being extremely close to the relegation zone, there is also a good chance that Preston North End can make it into the play-offs. They started the season as one of the top Championship bets, and they’re still only eight points behind Notts County in the final play-offs position.
Manager Phil Brown has said in recent weeks that players have not been has the same kind of commitment that he wishes to see.
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May 15, 2012 3:10 pm | 
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