While Preston North End were dishing out an FA Cup scare to Manchester United, Fermanagh man Andy Little cut a frustrated figure as he cheered on his team mates from the stands.

The former Rangers striker joined the League One club at the start of the season looking to establish himself in the promotion chasing side, but a string of injuries have curtailed his playing time and left him struggling to make the impact he was hoping for.

“It’s been up and down and very frustrating,” admitted Andy. “I started the season quite well. I was in the team and scored a couple of goals and then the first injury came, a hamstring injury. I missed two or three months with another injury as well and then I got back in the team around Christmas time and started a couple of games in a row. The last game I played was Norwich in the FA Cup and we put them out, but in that game I picked up another little niggle, and I have been out of first team action since then. I played 60 minutes on Tuesday in a friendly at the training ground and I’m just trying to get my fitness back and get over these little muscle injuries I have been having. Preston have been going pretty well and I am obviously desperate to be involved in that and watching from the stands isn’t much fun.” Having not played for the first team since the previous round of the FA Cup at the start of January, Andy seemed to be on schedule to return prior to the visit of United, and he suffered another setback in his recovery that ended his hopes of playing. “I thought I was going to be fit for it two Fridays ago because I was training with the boys, but I had to pull out of that session and since then I have missed two games and I knew I wasn’t going to be fit to be brought back in,” he revealed. “There was a lot of hype surrounding the game but from a team point of view we all thought we had a very good chance of getting something from the game. In general we seem to do better against better teams. We put Norwich out of the FA Cup and pre-season we beat Burnley and drew with Leicester. United are not the United they used to be and I think a bit of the fear factor has gone out of it. The boys weren’t really worried going into the game and I think we were unlucky in the end up. We maybe just scored a bit too early in the half. If we had scored 20 minutes later we might have had a better chance, but at 1-0 up I thought we certainly could get a replay out of it anyway. I suppose United did show their class albeit the first goal was maybe offside and there was a debate about whether he dived or not. The boys all loved it and it would have been brilliant, but now we can concentrate on the league which has always been our main aim anyway.” When Andy was released by Rangers at the end of last season he had several offers on the table, but rather than take the most lucrative proposal, he chose to sign for Preston in the hope he would play a part in gaining promotion to the Championship.

“I think the fact I knew they would be challenging for promotion to the Championship was the biggest factor of all,” he said. “I was offered better deals elsewhere from the likes of Barnsley who offered me more money, but I felt Preston was the best club for me to get promotion because I would love to play in the Championship. That is where I see myself and I would love to play at that level. I had opportunities in America and New Zealand, weirdly, and elsewhere in Europe. Clubs knew me well in Scotland and there were three of four SPL clubs in for me and a few other League One clubs but I think with Preston the size of the club was a big factor. Also my agent, Colin Murdoch, was a former Northern Ireland international and used to play for Preston and he only had good things to say about the club.” Although it has not gone to plan so far, Andy has not regretted his choice of club. “I have been loving everything about the club,” he said. “It is a really good set of lads and I feel I enjoy the training and the day to day things at the club more than I did at Rangers. There is none of the drama of Rangers and the manager and everyone else at the club has been great with me. Now I just want to get on the pitch and enjoy it as much on the pitch as I am off the pitch.” Preston are lying fourth in League One and still have their sights set on automatic promotion, and Andy is keen to be a part of it. “I just want to get back in the team and stay fit,” he admitted. “We have 16 or 17 games left and if we win our game in hand we are a point off second so we are right in the mix. Personally I have to get back and stay fit and force my way into the team, but we have a big squad and a good squad so it won’t be easy.”