PRESTON boss Craig Brown will order his players to make up for last week's woeful performance away at Walsall and promised fans, 'We won't let you down again!'

With chairman Derek Shaw this week feeling the need to ask fans to be patient with Brown, everyone at the club knows the points need to start coming if anything is going to come of this season.

North End currently sit in 18th place in the Nationwide First Division table with 14 points.

Watford currently occupy the bottom play-off place with 24 points, with a raft of teams close behind them.

Brown believes all it will take is two victories on the bounce to get North End back in the thick of things.

He said: "Where we are, it just takes a couple of victories to get us into play-off contention.

"I believe we have the ability, but we have three good players missing; Edwards, Lewis and Fuller."

David Healy was the only player to come out of the Walsall game with an injury -- and that was a blister caused by a new pair of boots.

He will probably start up front alongside Richard Cresswell as Ricardo Fuller sits out the second of his three game ban. Brown has ordered his players to help the fans erase the memory of last week's performance.

He said: "I think the fair minded fans will agree that in 15 games we haven't been that poor.

"But for the first time I thought it was a poor response to the great support that travelled to Walsall.

"When the fans are so loyal they need and deserve a better 45 minutes than that and I left the players in no doubt about that.

"The fans should be assured that last weekend was a one-off. I won't accept it and the players know that."

Brown will also order his defence to tighten up.

Although they saved the day with two of the goals late on, Brown believes that Walsall's first game was soft, as was the penalty.

In Reading, visitors to Deepdale this weekend, North End will face Nicky Forster, the striker tracked by David Moyes when the Lilywhites were pushing for promotion from Division Two.

Forster opted for Reading ahead of Preston -- and hit Preston for two goals in his first game at Deepdale.

He has helped Reading to promotion and last weekend knocked a hat-trick against Ipswich.