CRAIG Burley could make his first start for North End against Millwall on Saturday as Paul McKenna is out of action for a fortnight.

McKenna damaged ankle ligaments in Saturday's 2-0 defeat away at Watford leaving Craig Brown to contend with a mini injury crisis in the heart of his midfield with Dickson Etuhu out for another month.

Burley, on a short-term deal at Preston until the end of the season, has completed two reserve matches in the past fortnight, building up his fitness in the process.

That had been Brown's biggest concern about the Scottish international when he arrived at Deepdale, because he hadn't played since before Christmas at Dundee.

Burley will be up against Michael Keane and Brian O'Neil who also played in reserves this week for a space in the centre of midfield as North End go in search of a vital home win.

Last Saturday provided North End with an excellent opportunity to climb back into the play-off zone, with most of the teams above them on FA Cup duty, or not playing because their scheduled opponents were in cup action.

Brown left his players in no doubt what is expected of them this week.

He said after the Watford game: "I am desperately disappointed, to the point of being angry.

"Angry that we can't sustain a good performance for more than one match.

"It was totally unacceptable. We didn't play with the same verve, enthusiasm and commitment that we had the previous week.

"When you put out the same team that did so well against West Brom you don't expect them to play so poorly against Watford. We had a great opportunity to get into that top six, but we didn't take that opportunity."

Richard Cresswell is expected to recover from a slight knock as his quest continues for a second goal in 22 games, but skipper Chris Lucketti is doubtful as he is recovering from his broken toe.