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Preston boss Alex Neil wary of Barnsley threat

Preston boss Alex Neil warned “nobody has any divine right to beat anyone” as his side look to continue their play-off push at Barnsley on Tuesday night.

Saturday’s 2-1 win over Charlton ended a run of five league games without a win for Preston, who sit two points outside the play-off places ahead of the midweek fixtures.

“They’re a good team,” Neil said. “At home they are a much more difficult proposition.

“(Struber)’s certainly made a big difference. They are number one for pressing and shots since he came in which is some going.

“This is a really tough league and nobody has any divine right to beat anyone.”

Preston have been short of numbers in midfield of late, with Ben Pearson’s illness seeing him sidelined along with Paul Gallagher and Tom Bayliss, but Pearson could return on Tuesday night.

Saturday’s defeat saw Barnsley come up against another side pushing for promotion, and though they lost to Niclas Eliasson’s late goal, Struber believes his side showed further signs they are going in the right direction.

“I was pleased with the performance and, especially in the second half, we created a lot of chances,” he said.

“We were not in the same killer mood as in recent games. But I believe that if we continue to play that way we will get the results we need to stay in this league.”

Tuesday’s other game sees Middlesbrough and Birmingham meet at the Riverside Stadium.

Birmingham, one point behind Boro in 18th place, have won only two of their nine Championship games since Pep Clotet’s status as head coach was made permanent at the start of December.

“At the minute we are of course working on a striker because you can clearly see we create a lot of chances and we need to help the team more,” he said. “Any other player the club think that can help us is obviously welcome.”

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