PRESTON North End manager Alan Irvine insists the frantic nature of derby games makes them impossible to predict.

Irvine has endured a tough start to life in management after losing four of his five games since taking the helm at Deepdale.

That dismal sequence of results has seen North End slide to the bottom of the Championship.

Preston face a trip to Turf Moor tomorrow as they look to bounce back from their 1-0 home defeat to derby rivals Blackpool.

And the former Rovers player admitted that the form book goes out of the window in local derbies.

He said: "It's very difficult to predict what is going to happen.

"They (derbies) can go either way but you have to make sure you can't be questioned about your application."

The new manager has just a single win under his belt, against Hull, but striker Neil Mellor said he was confident Irvine would be able to engineer an upturn in fortunes at Deepdale.

He said: "The gaffer hasn't had a lot of time so far to get his ideas across.

"And in every training session, everyone is trying to impress him. He is doing a lot of stuff that I enjoy, like short, sharp possession drills which are essential really for keeping the ball in games."