Don't let up. That's the clear message from boss Alan Irvine as Preston look to make it three wins on the bounce when Scunthorpe provide the opposition at Deepdale in an eagerly anticipated Boxing Day fixture.

Though the points are starting to flow more freely, the gaffer is adamant that the players have to keep working for every victory, rather than expecting past form to simply yield result after result.

With a clear emphasis on winning, though, Irvine is clearly getting his players into a mindset where losing is not an option, even if things don't always go to plan like when last weekend's forty-five minute flight to the south coast turned into a twelve hour coach nightmare...

Life was certainly a little hectic on Friday with the aeroplane fog chaos you got caught up in while attempting to descend into Southampton. That must have made your job a lot harder?

"Yes - clearly things were made a little bit more difficult for us, albeit that we were still in Southampton in plenty of time. It wasn't the ideal preparation - particularly when the Club had gone to a lot of expense and effort to get the very best preparation, but the circumstances were beyond our control.

"The lads didn't get a proper meal on the Friday night - the nutritionists tell us it's important to get the right food inside us - and the players didn't get to bed as early as they probably should have done. Some will have slept in the next morning when they should really have been up for breakfast. I certainly had a longer lie in than I would normally have done.

"All credit to the lads  - they didn't use that as an excuse and they got on with the job. What it probably did affect more so than anything was my preparation because I struggled to do a lot of the analysis that I otherwise would have done on the Friday night."

The win keeps that good run going and you must be encouraged by the response you're getting from the players?

"It's nine out of twelve for us now, which is pleasing. True, we're not so happy about the one that we lost, but I'm delighted with the response from the players of late. I complained at the start that I wasn't getting sufficient time on the training ground and that's now improving. We've been able to do a lot of good work which I think is bearing fruit at the moment.

"We've got to remember that we've still got a long way to go and I'm certainly not going to say that everything's exactly how it needs to be, because it isn't, but I'm delighted with the way the players have taken the things on board that I've asked of them. They're obviously feeling a lot more confident about the things that are being said at the moment because they're getting results. It's a nice situation for us at this time."

You must be delighted when people like Lewis Neal come back into the side and prove their worth in the style that he in particular managed to do on Saturday?

"I said right at the beginning that I'd give everyone a chance. Some have to wait a bit longer for their chance than others, but all players can do when they're given a chance is take it - that's what the lads are doing at this particular moment in time. I'll stick by people who do a good job for us."

Are you going to be able to stick with those players again on Wednesday?

"Everyone came through the game at Southampton OK and we've got Paul McKenna back in contention for Wednesday. He's been training again, and Brett Ormerod has been too, so we're actually even stronger than we were at the weekend."

What are you expecting from the game in terms of the opposition based on their recent form and the likely conditions based on the recent weather?

"Well we've been training on the training ground and from the way that is I wouldn't expect the pitch to be a problem, unless there's a frost overnight before the game.

"As far as the opposition are concerned, I think Scunthorpe will make it a difficult game. They're in a position that they don't particularly want to be in at the moment, but they're not a bad side. I saw them play Blackpool a few weeks ago, and I was quite impressed with what I saw. Certainly - from the videos we've been working through from their recent games - they look like a decent team.

"They'll be hard-working, well organised, and they've got a threat up front. It'll be a tough game for us. We can't take anyone lightly because obviously we're still in a similar position ourselves. The situation is precarious, and we need to get out of it as quickly as we can.

"We will not be taking anybody lightly, that's for sure, and we cannot assume - just because we've had two wins away from home - that we will simply follow that up with two games at home. There's an awful lot of hard work that has to be done to get a win anywhere, whether that's at home or away. We have to approach this game exactly as we've approached the last two."

Are you setting yourself any targets over the Festive period?

"I'm just putting an emphasis on winning at this moment, whether it's at home or away. We've managed to get two wins away from home in our last two outings, and I hope everyone saw how positive the substitutions were at the weekend - they were made with a view to winning the game. It wasn't with a view to thinking 'we'll take a point because we've got a point at the moment', because we need wins.

"Between now and the end of the season we want to be winning a lot more games to make sure we're safe. It's a lot better to win one and lose one rather than drawing two, so we'll be looking to win whether that's at home or away. It always helps coming into games like this when you've got that added incentive of winning in front of your own fans. We want them to be as happy as the travelling fans have been."

And it must be a great boost to think that Boxing Day will bring one of our biggest home gates of the season based on the business we've experienced at the ticket office in recent days?

"It's a good opportunity to make an awful lot of our fans happy. They've had a difficult year along with everybody else connected with the Club, and it would be nice to finish the year well with this game on Wednesday and Cardiff to come on Saturday."

And finally, what have you asked Santa for this Christmas?

"Just lots and lots of points!"

Get down to Deepdale on Boxing Day to be part of one of Deepdale's biggest crowds of the season. If you suddenly find yourself stuck without a gift for a loved one on Christmas Day, don't forget you can buy your tickets at any time during the day via MyPNE.com.