STRIKER Richard Cresswell pledged to carry on hitting the back of the net after his brace had earned Preston a hard-fought 2-1 win at home to Rotherham.

The 24-year-old Yorkshireman bolstered his reputation as a more-than-adequate replacement for Jon Macken after the latter's £5million departure to Manchester City last week.

Boss David Moyes wrote in his programme notes that the club were actively searching for cover for the departed former Manchester United trainee, but Cresswell, who took his tally for the season to 12, looked a dangerous presence throughout alongside Northern Ireland international David Healy.

And after striking either side of an Alan Lee leveller to leave North End just five points off seventh-placed Burnley, Cresswell was confident he, Healy and Steve Basham could shoulder the responsibilities for the rest of the campaign and emulate last year's play-off place.

Cresswell said: "We've got to take the pressure now - and I'm sure between the three of us we can bang in a few goals.

"Realistically we've got to aim for the play-offs now. We had a bit of a hangover from last season but we're in there now and it's up to us now to get as many points as we can until the end of the season.

"We had to grind out a result today and I think we deserved the three points."

Healy added: "We got so far last season that everyone got their hopes up we would get promotion, but there's eight games to go now and hopefully we can push up this time."

Rotherham, meanwhile, are still two wins short of Ronnie Moore's 50-point survival target for the season.

The South Yorkshire side stay in 18th after defeat at Deepdale but Moore felt his men had deserved at least a point.

He said: "I thought we had enough of the game to get something out of it. We knew it was going to be a difficult game but I think we've done well."

PRESTON NE...2 ROTHERHAM...1