Pugh and Tonge to extend loan at PNE?

Danny Pugh and Michael Tonge could extend their loan at Preston as the relegation-threatened club look for some consistency from their embattled squad.

Both players have spent the past month on loan at Deepdale and PNE’s boss, Darren Ferguson is keen to keep them.

At the weekend they were unfortunate not to bring back all three points from a trip to Cardiff when they conceded a 94th minute goal after Tonge had fired the visitors into a first half lead.

PNE now prop up the foot of the Championship, four points from safety, and Ferguson knows that he needs some experienced players who can be relied upon not to bow under the pressure. When asked about the Stoke pair’s future, he told BBC Radio Lancashire: ‘If I had the opportunity I’d buy the pair of them tomorrow, they’re good players.

‘What they give you is a solid performance week in, week out.’

‘They won’t give you a ten out of ten one week and then a six the next,’ added Ferguson, ‘you have sevens and eights and that’s what we need at the moment.’

We’d have thought that Tony Pulis would be happy to listen to offers for Tonge in the upcoming transfer window. He’s in the final year of a three year contract, has only started a single Premier League match for the Potters (two years ago) and is obviously surplus to requirements having not even managed a run-out from the bench for the past two years.

Pugh is another who has found starting opportunities very limited, but has been used more often as a sub and is seen as a useful person to have as backup. So Ferguson may find that Pugh is slightly more difficult to prise away from the Potters as Tony Pulis has already sent out warning shots to several clubs this week reminding them that Stoke do not need to sell players in order to strengthen the squad at the top.