Tonge looking to Christmas period for lift

The former Sheffield United midfielder was left frustrated over the weekend as his team's game with Watford fell victim to the wintry weather. However, he is hopeful that North End can benefit from a busy festive programme of four games in nine days – three of them against sides directly above them.

Tonge, whose loan from Stoke City has been extended by another 28 days, said: "Christmas can change the season around because you have so many games in such a short space of time.

"If we can put a few results together then hopefully we can get out of it a little bit. The Championship is a very tight division; you often find that if you score first in a game you will go on to win it because it gets you on a roll. In the same way if you start putting results together, you get on a roll and build up some momentum.

"It can also work the other way; if you lose a couple of games you find yourselves stuck in a bit of a rut. What we can do is keep working as hard as possible in training and hope that it pays dividends on the pitch."