FRANKIE: WE MUST FOCUS ON OUR JOB
CARETAKER manager Frankie McAvoy insists Preston are not looking over their shoulder after their goalless draw at Stoke.
The result leaves North End ten points clear of third-bottom Rotherham, who have three games in hand.
But McAvoy is remaining in an upbeat mood
“We have four games to go and have to try to win as many of the games left as we can,” he said.
“There are still teams that can catch us if we don’t win our games and we have to treat every game on its merit.
“We will not get sucked into how many points we need. We can’t control what other teams do.
“We have control over the games we play and that is what we need to focus on.
“We did not do well enough in the first half and we had to address that. It was not good enough and it will not get us anywhere.
“We got the press fixed from the front in the second half and we were the dominant team.
“Over the course of the game we were unfortunate that we didn’t come away with the three points. We had good opportunities in the second half and needed a bit more composure. Overall, it was a positive result.
“We looked forward in the second half and got the ball in dangerous areas to cause them issues.
“I’m pleased with the second half and that is a positive. I am pleased with the point, to be honest.”
Both sides were denied by the woodwork, with Stoke’s Harry Souttar and Preston’s Andy Hughes going close after the break. The Potters enjoyed the best of the first-half chances, with Daniel Iversen saving well to keep out Josh Tymon in a oneon-one and a near own goal by Ben Whiteman.
In fact, Iversen proved a dominant figure throughout.
The visitors came closest in the second half with Ched Evans and Tom Barkhuizen going close.
But the best chance came when Hughes hit the outside of a post with a sweetly-hit free-kick.
Stoke played the final four minutes a man light after Souttar was dismissed for a professional foul on Alan Browne, after the Preston captain went clean through.
Stoke boss Michael O’Neill admitted it had been a frustrating 90 minutes for his side.
“We allowed ourselves to be nullified in the first 15 minutes,” he said. “We switched the play quicker after that and we were excellent up to half-time.
“We should have scored and didn’t. We didn’t get across people enough in the box and we needed to find something to go 1-0 up.
“Preston made it more difficult for us in the second half. We didn’t cause them enough problems with the decisions we made.
“We needed to turn them around more and we got bogged down and made it complicated in the second half.
“We lost the ball in bad areas and got picked off more by them. We gave away free-kicks on the edge of the box and gave them hope and belief.”