Preston defender Youl Mawene feels North End's squad is stronger than at any time during his six-year stay at the club.

The 30-year-old former Lens and Derby man is a veteran of four managers and three play-off campaigns at Deepdale, and he believes Alan Irvine's side is primed for a promotion push.

He told Preston's official website: "It's the strongest squad we have had since I've been here definitely.

"Even going back to the time when I arrived and we had Claude Davis and Chris Lucketti, back then we had a good team but the squad was kind of weak on numbers.

"That is not the case now. The seasons are long and you are going to need a good number of players."