CITY have been warned to keep a close eye on former Leeds hitman Jermaine Beckford.

He took his Preston goal tally to eight since joining them on loan from Bolton in November with the Good Friday winner over Rochdale.

“That is what Jermaine can do,” said boss Simon Grayson after Beckford made up for a bad miss the previous week against Fleetwood.

“The one at Fleetwood which he didn’t score was a tap-in, this one he turned and hit really low through the keeper’s legs – it was something out of nothing.

“Players like him miss chances and take chances. But I would rather have him in the team than be against him.”

The fact that Grayson subbed Beckford at half-time to give him a breather shows the depth of squad at his disposal. He has the option to shake things up again at Valley Parade, where Preston will be backed by over 2,000 away fans.

“We have got ourselves into a good position and there will be no complacency from our players and staff,” he added.

“Now we are in a good position, we have to work even harder to reach the target that we set ourselves in the summer (of automatic promotion).”

Preston did City a favour by beating Rochdale, who had gone into the weekend two points ahead from the same number of games.

Grayson said: “It was another clean sheet and a vital three points at this stage of the season.

“In an ideal world you would win the game and play really well. We just did what we had to do to win a football match.

“We needed to try and get a second goal because the last few minutes were getting a bit anxious. Now the focus turns to Bradford.”

Preston’s visit last season saw a feisty goalless draw when on-loan Kyle Bennett was sent off on his debut along with Neil Kilkenny.