Dickov has reasons to be cheerful as Rovers get together

Goals from Harry Forrester and Curtis Main looked like seeing Rovers become only the second side to win in League One at Deepdale this season, after Bradford’s win in mid-November.

But a last-gasp leveller from Jermaine Beckford denied sixth-placed Rovers, although Dickov was full of praise for his side.

He said: “I think they could have gone second and we went there and were by far the better team. With 12 games to go, that gives us a lot of confidence.

“We were magnificent in the second half. We have given ourselves a fantastic chance; we’d have loved to have won which would have been a fantastic result, but this was a good result.

“With 12 games left, I am delighted with the togetherness I’ve got. The substitutes are making a massive impact and those not getting on are backing everybody along the way.”

Rovers are assessing Paul Keegan, who came off with a knee problem on Tuesday.

Coming up on the rails in the play-off chase are Barnsley, who secured a fourth straight win for the first time this season – and a fourth successive clean sheet – in a 1-0 win over Coventry City.

George Waring was the match-winner for the second consecutive match, leaving the Reds in 10th spot and just two points off the side occupying the final play-off spot in Rovers.

Wary about getting carried away, new head coach Lee Johnson, who confirmed that sanctioning the exit of Leroy Lita to Notts County could free up funds to bring in some loan recruits of his own, said: “It’s great for the players.

“Of course, I have only been in two games, but the two wins before that have set up a nice little vibe coming into the two games.

“We are on good little run and two points off the play-offs, but we can’t get carried away. We move on now to Saturday.”

Tuesday was also a good night for York City, who boosted their survival hopes in League Two with an outstanding 3-0 victory at Cambridge United.

Delighted manager Russ Wilcox, who saw his side end a four-hour wait for a goal with three in just 12 minutes, said: “The performance was right up there with the 3-0 win at Carlisle and was near-on perfect.

“The players got everything spot on and the game plan worked well.”