Preston boss Alan Irvine has heaped lavish praise on his players following their impressive climb away from relegation danger.North End have given their Championship survival hopes a massive boost by winning four and drawing one of their last five outings.

They now lie six points above the drop zone with six games remaining and look almost certain to avoid the drop.

"We have done well since the turn of the year and obviously we have gathered a bit more momentum since the beginning of March," said Irvine.

"To get 13 points out of the last five games is excellent.

"It just shows how much we had to do really to get ourselves out of trouble because we have really needed those points."

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