Wednesday 19 December 2012 18:31, UK
German goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann is puzzled by Preston's inability to translate their cup form into league success.
Stuckmann was North End's penalty shoot-out hero against Bury on Tuesday night, superbly saving from Greg Wylde before Graham Cummins sealed a 5-4 spot-kick triumph on the back of a thrilling 3-3 draw in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. Graham Westley's men are now through to the northern area semi-finals of the competition against Coventry having already secured an FA Cup third-round tie at Millwall. The Lions will be wary on account of Preston dumping Championship counterparts Huddersfield and Crystal Palace out of the Capital One Cup earlier this season, but the Deepdale outfit are without a win in five League One matches and floundering in 15th place. "I really don't know," said the shot-stopper. "It's strange because we've showed some great character in the cup games all the time but we can't really put it in the league as well. "It's a team which has a lot of new players. I know it's not an excuse but we all have to learn and everything needs to get together a bit more quickly. "I know we can get a lot of confidence off this (cup) run. It's a busy Christmas week so we must take the confidence and get on a winning run."