Preston North End star's turning point identified as £1.2m man earns Ryan Lowe praise

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe believes Mads Frokjaer is now shining - and that he can have a big say in the final 16 games.

The Lilywhites paid a reported £1.2million to land Frokjaer from Odense BK in the summer. He made a strong start to life at Deepdale - netting early on against Sunderland - before dropping in and out of the side for a few months.

In recent weeks, though, Frokjaer has nailed down a spot in the attacking midfield position - behind striking duo Will Keane and Emil Riis. Lowe, in his latest press conference, discussed the Dane's season so far and how the pair have challenged each other over the campaign too.

"There's been a bit of tough loving between us, I must say," said Lowe. "But he's a great kid, fantastic character and a great footballer. Earlier on in the season he was excellent, then he came out the team and was coming on trying to impress a bit too much. And I said: 'Look, impress by doing the simple things' which he then went back to the drawing board and did. He's a thinker and comes in the coach's office all the time, wanting to speak and analyse things.

"If he's unsure, he asks the question, which is what we want. And yeah, he's proven his worth now. We always knew he'd go and then have a bit of a dip; whether you'd call it that, just because he wasn't playing because of the formation. But all of a sudden, since the Bristol City game he's shone. And I think he's in that rich vein of form of 'I'm not coming out of this team - I am going to keep on performing and doing well'.

"He is always going to tire at times, because the Championship is a lot faster, more electric and pacey than the Danish league he was in - which we know. But, if he can continue the form he's showing now - he'll be disappointed he's not getting more goals because he's getting in those positions - but his goal scoring in training is a different class. He's one of the best finishers at the club. And if he can bring that to the party, then it will help - not just him, but us get results."

On the 'tough loving', Lowe said: "Yeah well, one of my non-negotiables is that all recovery runs are sprints. There have been times when he's given the ball away and looked to someone else to get it back. He understands it and even in training, with reactions, he's been different class. It is tough for him and Milly coming from a different club and country and just landing. The football club makes sure they've got everything in house and that they need.

"We try and keep an eye on them all and what they do, but we can't manage that. For him to land in a different country - which he's been excellent in doing - is sometimes tough isn't it? In terms of tough love, we've had one or two words about what he needs to do more of, or even coming on to the pitch and not giving the ball away in certain areas. If we look back on all the stats now, he's obviously a lot better than he was. If he does give it away at the top end of the pitch, that's fine - it's a risk area. Just make sure you try and get it back; he's been excellent in doing that."