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Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe took plenty of positives away from his team’s penultimate pre-season outing.

On Tuesday night, the Lilywhites ran out 2-0 winners at Salford City - with Robbie Brady and Milutin Osmajic on the score sheet. There’s one more friendly to go for North End, at home to Everton on Saturday. Come full-time at the Peninsula Stadium in midweek, Lowe was satisfied by his team’s performance and how they are shaping up on the whole.

"We knew, with Karl (Robinson) - the way he is and the players he has got - he's building a good squad and I'm sure they will be very competitive next season," said Lowe. "He is a good coach and a mate of mine, of course. We knew it was going to be tough and we had to break them down. We did create some good chances and we're pleased to get two goals. You always want to finish the back end of pre-season on a bit of a high and we've got one more game to go. There were some good movements, some good patterns of play and some good goals. I cannot be more pleased, with the performance the lads put in."

Awaiting PNE now are 90 minutes against Everton, but it’s then full steam ahead to the Friday night curtain raiser against Sheffield United. North End will be on home soil, under the lights and in front of the Sky Sports cameras. The Toffees encounter will be Preston’s eighth of the summer schedule. That’s a challenge they will prepare right for and embrace, but it’s fair to say Lowe and co are ready for the proper stuff to get going now.

"Yeah, we are craving it," said Lowe. "Everton is going to be a good last test. We have got to put in a performance; you can't just turn it on. We are only seven training sessions away from the Friday night start to the season, against Sheffield United. We've got to be ready and I feel like all the lads have got more minutes, so they're probably on par with that now. You want to win every game, of course, but the results in pre-season are not that relevant. It was nice to score two goals and get the lads a bit of confidence, but the performance for me is pleasing. There were loads of good movements, patterns of play, chances and we defended well, blocking shots - everything we asked for, that will be in a Championship game."

Competition in the middle of the pitch is certainly strong, ahead of the Blades’ visit to Deepdale next week. Lowe has given opportunities to his entire squad over pre-season, using players in a variety of roles and within different systems. With 10 days to go until match day one in the league, the PNE boss will be getting closer to knowing what his first team selection will be. But, Lowe is particularly keen to stress the role substitutes have to play this season.

"I want the competition to be right the way throughout," said Lowe. "We speak about starters and finishers now, because that's what it's about. It's not just the starting XI, we've got a good squad of players so far and we want to add to that - which we are trying to do. But, the fact is that everyone's competing against each other when you've got good lads in the building. Some will be happy because they will be playing; some will be disappointed. But, it's not just about the XI - it's the five subs we will be able to make. They are all going to be as important as each other and we want to definitely have that competition."