Preston North End have enjoyed a largely positive week of football in the Championship, although Alex Neil’s side will be frustrated that they could not build on their recent momentum in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Millwall.

Prior to the game against Millwall last weekend, Preston had managed to record back to back victories away from home at Wigan Athletic and then at Stoke City, with Neil’s side ensuring that they would reclaim a place back inside the Championship’s top six places with those victories.

Despite their six match unbeaten run in the league coming to an end against Millwall, Preston remain in sixth place in the Championship table and continue to look strong contenders to achieve a top six finish come the end of the campaign, which would represent a hugely successful season for the Lilywhites.

Here then, we take a look at FOUR Preston talking points that have emerged over this past week…

Preston continuing to improve away from home

During the first half of the campaign it was Preston’s reliable and consistent home form that was keeping them up amongst the contenders for promotion towards the top of the Championship table, but the Lilywhites were at times struggling to replicate that same consistency on their travels.

However, with their back to back wins at Wigan and Stoke, Preston extended their unbeaten run on their travels to six matches, since they suffered a 2-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers back at the start of December, and that run has helped to get Neil’s side back in amongst the division’s top six.

Neil’s side also demonstrated two qualities within their performances that will put them in a good place to continue their away form, with the Lilywhites dominating large periods of their win at Wigan, before managing to earn all three points despite not being at their best against Stoke.

QUIZ: Can you name the club these 14 ex-Preston North End players are playing for now?

David Nugent more of an impact player than regular starter

One thing that Preston could probably take from the last week of football will be that David Nugent is perhaps better being used as an option to bring on to affect the game late on, rather than being entrusted to lead the line and be the player to provide the difference in the last third from the start.

Against Stoke, Nugent was brought off the bench by Neil for the final half an hour, with Preston struggling to really make an impact on the game in the final third, but the experienced striker’s physicality up front was hugely influential in helping the Lilywhites take control of the contest and secure a vital three points.

That performance from the bench against Stoke saw Nugent be rewarded with a start against Millwall on Saturday, but the striker was unable to really affect the game as much as he had done from the bench at Stoke, as the Lilywhites were unable to find a break through against a well drilled defence.

Preston’s home form starting to become a concern

Just as Preston have started to improve their consistency and results away from home, they have started to see their form at Deepdale suffer an untimely dip, with Neil’s side having managed to win just one of their four Championship matches on home soil since the turn of the year.

The Lilywhites’ defeat against Millwall on Saturday was just their fourth home defeat of the campaign in the league, but it was also their third in their last five at Deepdale, which suggests that Preston are in real danger of seeing their reliable home form drift away during the rest of the campaign.

That would only put further pressure on them maintaining their recent form on their travels, but it is vital that Neil’s side manage to find a balance to their home and away form between now and the end of the campaign if they are going to mount a successful promotion push.

Preston are continuing to find goals from different sources

Despite failing to score against Millwall on Saturday, Preston have showed this past week that they are able to rely on a number of players to make a difference in the final third, which means Neil’s side are able to share the goals around, rather than relying on a single player to make the crucial difference.

Against Stoke, both Alan Browne and Tom Barkhuizen were on target for the Lilywhites, both from set pieces, while Daniel Johnson had joined Barkhuizen in netting in the win at Wigan the weekend before - and that shows that opposing defences have to worry about stopping a number of Preston’s players to keep them out.

That is something that the Lilywhites are going to need to continue to rely on as the season progresses, with North End not really having a single player who would you would suggest would be guaranteed to score week in, week out for them.