Preston boss Alan Irvine believes his side have developed the backbone required to stave off relegation from the Championship.Irvine, who took the helm at Deepdale last November, has steadily engineered an upturn in fortunes and his men look to be hitting form as the crucial run-in approaches.

North End have collected 10 points from their last four games to move up to 16th place in the Championship and four points above the drop zone.

"I think that shows we've got something more now," said Irvine.

"There's more resilience and the players are well organised - they know what they're doing.

"That's a platform from which we can build, and you hope to use that platform to be able to play in a creative and expansive way."

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