The first step

Last night saw Preston register their first points under Graham Westley with a hard fought 0-0 draw away to Notts County, a game of very few chances saw the home team on top for most of the game but couldn't find their way past a resilient back 4 which looked solid for the first time since the 1-0 win at MK and incidentally it was the first clean sheet since that game as well. Preston were also the first team to stop Notts County scoring at home as well which will provide many positives for Westley.

While Preston may have only had one shot on target, something which seems to have annoyed a minority of fans, the fact that we went to Notts County (particularly after the dour performance on Saturday against Leyton  Orient) and finally looked like we had a solid defence is a very good platform for us to build on. After taking substantial criticism from Preston fans on twitter Saturday night Clarke Carlisle delivered one of his best performances in a Preston shirt and gave the perfect response to the criticism with a fantastic partnernership with Craig Morgan who was praised by Westley after the game. David Gray also had a Man of the Match performance, even spilling blood for the cause as the defensive line held firm which is a contrast to some defensive performances recently and providing some welcome respite for Thorsten Stuckmann who continues to be a shining light and one of the big reasons for the defensive stability at the moment.

Last night also featured the first time (and probably last time) that Preston played in the third kit. This was due to the fact that both home and away kits clashed with Notts County's home kit and they weren't going to change into their away kit as they were at home so the red kit was adopted, personally I think it's rather stylish but I don't think it'll be in the shops, apart from a limited time in May for a ridiculously high price like £50 like we did for a third kit a few seasons ago.

At least we now have a platform to build on and the team is starting to work together after looking very disjointed against Leyton Orient. Preston travel to Yeovil at the weekend which will not be an easy game due to the appointment of fans favourite Gary Johnson as manager only a few weeks ago, they might be in the relegation places, but they will provide a stern test for Preston as Westley aims for his first win as Preston manager, at least he's identified the problems on the pitch and is taking measures to alleviate them, if the defensive stability continues, no doubt we will start going forward with more confidence as well