Ryan Lowe learning from Newcastle United boss as Leeds United and others await Preston North End

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe believes a Championship victory will give the feeling around Deepdale a boost.

The Lilywhites were thrashed 1-5 by Watford last time out, with it eight defeats in 14 for Preston and three wins from 15 games. North End sit eighth in the table but form has seriously faltered since their eight match unbeaten start to the season, which featured six wins.

It's a long trip to Swansea City on Friday night, before PNE host Leeds United on Boxing Day and Sheffield Wednesday three days later. The new year kicks off against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light and Lowe views the upcoming four games as a crucial period for he and his team.

"One win just changes it doesn't it?" said Lowe. "I could sit here and bore you to death about stats and tactics and everything else, but when you win one game of football everything changes. I am going off Eddie Howe; his motto lately is that they have to put it to bed, debrief it and go on to the next one. Champions League, then away to Fulham, then to Chelsea and then they've got to go again at Luton on Sunday. So, I am thinking 'wow, how does he keep churning them out with the same players and messages?'

"You've just got to keep doing as much as you possibly can. The Christmas period is vital. We want it to be a good Christmas period. We are coming up against teams where people will look and go 'Should beat them, you won't beat them, you might beat them, you won't beat them' and then whatever. But, for us it's about putting the game plans together first and foremost and the lads executing it. Nine times out of 10, if they do we've got a good chance of winning games of football - let alone drawing.

"And those are the messages. So we've got Swansea, Leeds - which we know is going to be a tough one. Swansea is tough in different ways. Then we've got Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland on New Year's Day. There are four games that, are they all winnable? Of course, any game in the Championship is winnable. Are they all losable? Of course they are. Can you draw? Of course, so it's 50-50 in most games with the exception from Leeds - potentially. But, we know we'll have to put a game plan together that suits us, to get something out of that Leeds game.

"First and foremost, it's Swansea away and we have to make sure we put a performance in to get a positive result. We will be trying our hardest to keep the back door shut. If you do that you have the opportunity to score goals at the top end of the pitch. If you can't win, you definitely don't lose and that is going to be the case over the next four games. We've got full belief in the group and the players, because they've done that before. What gives us a positive Christmas is staying around the top half of the division."