PAUL Mullin is relishing the chance to pit his wits against two more Championship sides.

The Accrington Stanley striker, who scored in the Reds' 3-1 defeat at home to Cardiff City on Saturday, is gearing up for back-to-back games against Preston North End and Burnley as Stanley go full steam ahead in their pre-season friendly campaign.

Billy Davies' Preston are the first visitors to the Interlink Express Stadium tonight, while the Clarets make the short trip to Livingstone Road tomorrow (both games kick-off at 7.45pm).

And Mullin believes it is good for the side's preparations to face such tough opposition.

"Preston will be a tough test for us - as will the Burnley game, which I'm looking forward to with it being my brother's old club and my son's favourite club," he said.

"It's a shame the two games are in such close proximity but I'm sure we'll get a good crowd on for both of them.

"We look forward to these games because you don't get to play against these sort of sides every week at our level.

"And it's good that they keep coming back in pre-season because it means they obviously get something out of it as well as us."

He added: "I thought we did well against Cardiff. I thought our fitness levels were decent and I thought we matched them, certainly in the first half.

"We couldn't do anything about the first goal and the second one was well worked. But we hung in their and nicked a goal back before half-time.

"We got a bit disjointed in the second half after we changed the formation a bit. But I thought - all in all - it was a good workout for us."

"The manager's always disappointed when we get beat, and there are things to improve on.

"But results aren't totally important in pre-season. You never like getting beat but it's hard against league sides because they are always expected to win and, on paper they should do.

"But you definitely get more out of a close defeat against the likes of Cardiff rather than a 5-0 or 6-0 win against a team a couple of divisions below us.

"But we mix up the pre-season games anyway so there's a nice balance.

"As well as hoping to get a couple of wins on the board, the style you come up against in the Conference is a little bit diffierent to League football.

"It's good to work on different techniques against the pro teams, and I'm sure we'll get a couple of wins under our belt in the remaining pre-season games."

Preston have split their squad into two for tonight's game, as they have also arranged a pre-season friendly with Lancaster City.

Danny Dichio will be making his first North End appearance on English soil following his move from Millwall in the summer, although it has not been confirmed whether he will make the trip to the Interlink Express Stadium or Giant Axe.

Preston, who returned from a pre-season trip to Lake Garda at the weekend, where they beat Austrian side Swarovski Wattens 3-0, have virtually a full squad to choose from. Andy Lonergan is the only player sidelined as he recovers from a cruciate ligament injury.