McQueenie is confident Lily will bloom

Easthouses LILY manager David McQueenie had high hopes for his team this season after they beat Spartans 3-2 in a League Cup qualifying tie during the first week of August.

However, results have not gone according to plan since then and as McQueenie explained: “My wife has not seen me happy on a Saturday night since that weekend. We have won only league game when we beat the bottom club Hawick Royal Albert 3-0. We are sitting third-bottom so, realistically, promotion is beyond us even although we still have 12 games left. All I want now is some respectability.”

Last Saturday, Lily lost 2-1 to Civil Service Strollers in a King Cup tie and McQueenie said: “It was a much-improved performance and I reckon that we play better when we play against Premier Division opposition. I felt that we should have won but we had a bad two-minute spell when we lost two goals. We then pummelled the Strollers and created a lot of chances.

“Tomorrow, against Preston Athletic, it will be a tough game as they beat us 6-2 only a few weeks ago and fully deserved their win. However, if we play like we did last Saturday then anything is possible and I fully expect to give them a much harder game.”

Craig Stupert returns to give McQueenie a full squad.

Preston have goalkeeper Ross Gilpin on holiday, John Kerr is working and Gary Kennedy is nursing a chest infection while Phil Hobbins is recovering from a head wound. Matt Costello and Greg McColl will both undertake late fitness tests.

Preston boss Stevie Myatt is hopeful of adding two trialists to his squad.