PRESTON AIM TO PRESS ON NOW! Play-off aim for Grayson and co
the club that Luke is not happy with but his main job is to coach the group and improve them.
“I don’t want him not taking training on a certain day because he has to go and watch a Premier League Under-21s game, for example.
“I have Seamus Brady and a couple of trusted contacts that will help me recruit players for the club and Luke will always be part of that process.”
Nevertheless,Williams will still be actively involved in the recruiting process according to Power.
“We will only bring those players in if Luke wants them,” he added.
“We have actually had the most ridiculous conversations over the last couple of months where I have wanted to bring bodies in because I was concerned about the position we were in and Luke was saying he doesn’t need any.
“Normally, the head coach says he needs them and the chairman says ‘no, you’ve got enough’.”
SIMON Grayson is not ready to throw the towel in on a possible play-off push after Preston beat Bolton for the first time since 1992 – and plunged the Trotters deeper into trouble.
Second-half goals from Jordan Hugill and Marnick Vermijl cancelled out Liam Trotter’s first-half opener and subjected Bolton, in their first game under new ownership, to their 19th loss of the season.
Preston had not even scored a single goal against Bolton in 23 years and now Neil Lennon’s side stare up from the bottom of the Championship 11 points adrift of safety.
As far as Preston’s ambition goes, a first win in four gives them hope and Grayson admits it took a half-time rocket up the backside to get them on track.
“There were a few choice words at half-time because we have set a standard and don’t want our season just to peter out – we need to keep winning games and see where it takes us,” said Grayson.
“The team responded in a really positive manner and we looked a far better team in the second half with a change of formation and desire.
“At times Bolton played some good football, but we were a lot better and looked a real threat.
“When you bring 4,500 to a ground like this you want to make sure that you put on a performance and get a good result and we did that.”
Bolton were handed an early scare as a header from Hugill scraped Paul Rachubka’s crossbar in the first minute.
The hosts then had a strong penalty claim in the ninth minute when Gary Madine went down in the area, but those appeals were waved away by referee Paul Tierney.
Bolton were handed their reward for a strong start midway through the half as Trotter stroked the ball into the corner of the Preston net from range.
The derby atmosphere came to a head as the half drew to a close, as a scuffle between Darren Pratley and Paul Gallagher saw them both earn bookings.
Preston squandered a chance to draw level early in the second half, as a stretching Gallagher failed to latch onto a whipped cross into the Bolton area.
A Liam Feeney cross from the right gave Madine a good chance to extend his side’s lead, but the striker’s diving header flew wide of the goal.
Preston equalised just before the hour mark, when a goalmouth scramble ended with Hugill poking the ball into the Bolton net for his first league goal of the season.
The away side then broke Bolton hearts in the dying stages when substitute Vermijl latched onto the end of a goalmouth scramble to poke the ball into the net.
It leaves Lennon counting down the days until Bolton’s transfer embargo is lifted, after Sports Shield consortium’s takeover last week pulled the club back from the financial brink.
“I thought we played well in the first half and Preston were good in the second half, but we improved again when we changed the shape,” said Lennon.
“We missed good chances again to win the game and we got caught with a sucker punch late on which is disappointing.
“At times we lacked that bit of experience – we need to learn how to manage the game better.
“The sooner we can end this transfer embargo the better, the squad is very thin at the minute so we need to be able to bring players in.”