THE transfer deadline came and went at 5pm on Monday and the news North End fans had been dreading failed to materialise with Ricardo Fuller staying put.

And Craig Brown reckons the Jamaican will soon be back to his best.

Fuller was one of several players blasted by Brown for missing easy chances at Swansea in the FA Cup.

Brown said: "It looked on the training ground as if a load had been lifted from his mind. He was looking really bright and back to his best.

"The last couple of weeks there was a bit of pressure on him with all the speculation hanging over him.

"He wasn't as buoyant as he usually is. But now he is fully up for it and the humour was back, the liveliness was back and there wasn't a hint of injury."

Of the players who shipped out last week, Eric Skora is the one who hit the headlines. The Frenchman scored for Kilmarnock in their 5-1 defeat at Celtic. But any hopes Scots may have of keeping the French gem North of the border have been shot down by North End.

They insist they want him back at the end of the season.

On the international front, four players have so far been called up for the next round of country games taking place around February 18. David Healy goes with Northern Ireland, Eddie Lewis with America and Jamaican duo Fuller and Claude Davis have also been called up