McGhee upbeat despite loss of Liam Grimshaw

Grimshaw (20) cut short his Fir Park loan by five days to return to parent club Manchester United ahead of moving to Deepdale.

“Grimmy has been fantastic for us,” McGhee said.

“He is a lovely lad and the supporters should thank him and wish him well.

“But we cannot compete with teams like Preston.

“Grimmy was here until Monday night, when we thought he was signing a new contract.

“We were left exposed and he’s gone.

“But we are not going to panic. Our chances of winning at Tynecastle are not reduced that much by Grimmy not being here.

“Someone else is going to get a chance.”

McGhee also gave his reaction to being drawn at home to either holders Inverness Caley Thistle or Stirling Albion in the William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round on either February 6 or 7. Caley recently won 3-1 in a league game at Fir Park.

“I think both Yogi (Caley manager John Hughes) and I would think there were easier draws,” McGhee said.

“But that’s what’s happened. We would hope that being at home we would have an advantage, but when we played them the last time it wasn’t.

“They beat us well but we felt a couple of things went against us that day. We will be fully aware of the danger that they pose.

“If we are going to win the cup, we need to beat the best teams.”