Warnock takes blame as Preston inflict first defeat

Neil Warnock urged Cardiff City supporters to direct any blame at him for the end of their unbeaten Championship start, which came at the hands of a ruthless Preston North End side.

Preston inflicted a first loss of the season on Warnock’s men, with a stunning 40-yard strike from Alan Browne capping an emphatic victory for Alex Neil’s side. That made it 3-0 with 12 minutes remaining.

Josh Harrop, the former Manchester United trainee, had opened the scoring with his first Preston goal – on only his second start – from a 25-yard free-kick.

Sean Maguire added a second after 70 minutes before Browne lobbed goalkeeper Neil Etheridge from improbable range to bring the house down and knock Cardiff off the top of the Championship. Warnock said: “The goals were terrible but we had eight or nine lads not at the races. The travelling we’ve had since Saturday has been terrible. I bet we’ve done more travelling than any other team in the country.

“We got back at 11.30 from Fulham and travelled six hours yesterday. If we hadn’t been undefeated, I would have made three or four changes but, when you’re undefeated and make changes and lose, you get battered for it.

“So I take a bit of the blame because they looked a little jaded but you’re a brave man to change a side that hasn’t lost a game. Preston were bright and we couldn’t get at them because we had no energy.”

Preston manager Alex Neil said: “We have absolutely no one to fear. We’ve played seven games and we’ve been excellent in all of them apart from Derby.”