Throughout the course of his career at Deepdale, Chris Sedgwick has been recognised as Mr Consistent, a reliable source out on either flank.

And the dependable wide-man has produced some excellent displays in recent weeks, playing an important part in Preston's renaissance in the second half of the campaign.

But as the season nears its conclusion, the 27-year-old is determined not to let the hard work go to waste as he and his team-mates strive to finish with a flourish.

It has in truth been a mixed eight months for Sedgwick who found himself left out the starting line-up for a short period at the turn of the year.

But since regaining his place on the wing, Sedge - and his compatriots - have hit fine form, a factor he believes is down to the approach of Alan Irvine.

The Yorkshireman said: "Since I got back in the team in January I've been pleased with my form and I'm enjoying it week in week out. My confidence was rock bottom when the Gaffer came in and I was having a bit of a bad time and the team weren't playing well.

"He's been top class and I think everybody is enjoying playing under him. His training is good and there is a reason behind everything he does. He gives us the freedom to go out and play plus we are organised and everyone is enjoying it.

"Up until Christmas it was a shambles really and the Gaffer has come in and sorted it out. He has got the players behind him and everyone has bought into his idea of how he wants to play football."

The 2-2 draw at Loftus Road last weekend may still be fresh in the memory of many PNE supporters, but the players are now ready to put the disappointment of the result behind them.

According to Sedgwick, the squad have analysed the incident-packed final few minutes and looked at where they went wrong.

He added: "It still stings a bit but we have to put it behind us now. It's gone - hopefully we'll learn from it and take it into the next game.

"Apart from the last five minutes we played well. There are a few things that we have watched on the video this week and seen what we can do better, we'll take that on board and we'll do that in future when we are in a similar position.

"They got the goal and we probably had a few chances to keep the ball in our half but we never took those chances. We dropped deeper and deeper, they ended up pinning us in and it was difficult to get away."

Preston can virtually guarantee their place in the Championship next season with a victory over the Tykes this Saturday, but the tricky midfielder acknowledges that it will be a stern test against a side buoyed by a fantastic 3-0 win over promotion-chasing Watford in midweek.

Sedgwick concluded: "The league is the bread and butter for Barnsley now and I'm sure they will put the Cup disappointment behind them and will reflect on it in the summer. Nobody expected them to go to Watford and win 3-0 so they will be on a bit of a high after that and we have got to be ready.

"It's frightening how tight it is and it's going to be a high points total which ends up going down. 50 points will have kept you up in previous seasons but it looks like it's going to be a lot higher this year.

"It's all about who can handle the pressure at this time of the season. It's about the teams that can put a run together and grind the results out. Fortunately we've been on a good run and managed to put a bit of distance between ourselves and the relegation zone.

"There have been games where we have had to dig in, like the Blackpool game where before Christmas we would have probably lost. We've got a bit of steel and resilience now and we've stood strong."