PREMIERSHIP Preston?

It's a dirty phrase to boss Billy Davies, who has banned all talk of a title push from the club's training ground.

Davies made his feelings clear about fellow Scot -- and two goal hero at the weekend -- Graham Alexander told the media he thought Preston could make a push for the top six.

Back-to-back wins -- crucially including an away win too -- has prompted terrace talk of Preston 'doing a Palace' in the second half of the season.

It's easy to see where that talk has come from. Saturday's win against Derby, who began the day in seventh place, carried Preston up to 11th, level on points with Derby, who dropped to 10th as a result.

It puts Preston within five points of the play-offs, but Davies said: "We can't start talking about the play-offs.

"I've always said we must take each game as it comes. We have a way to go yet and I don't think we're ready for talk like that."

A tricky December begins for North End with Sunday's televised trip to Wigan, followed by a second derby on December 11, this time away at Burnley.

That's followed by the home visit of West Ham, an away day to Stoke on Boxing Day, before Reading and Sunderland at home.

Alexander, however, believes Preston have the squad to do it.

He said: "We've got the monkey off our back with the away win and we now have to build on that.

"We want to get into the top six and stay there. We fell away after the Christmas period last year and we can't let that happen again." Davies believes the depth of the squad and continuity will be key to North End's success this year.

He will be able to demonstrate one at the weekend, but at the expense of the other.

Dickson Etuhu is expected to replace Paul McKenna after the Chorley-born midfielder clocked his fifth yellow card of the season.

The game at Wigan should serve to prove whether North End's vastly-improved game against Derby is sustainable.

Assistant manager David Kelly believes the arrival of new signings Patrick Agyemang and Chris Sedgwick -- both of who played very well on Saturday -- means it will.

He said: "Saturday was a decent result against a decent team. I think the new signings gave everyone a lift.

"We want to keep bringing more faces in, but the budget will decide who we can and can't have."