Jack King was named man of the match as PNE fell to a 1-0 defeat against promotion rivals Sheffield United.
“Luckily for us we have got a game so soon after today, on Tuesday, to go and put what we have learnt from today into that game and implement it.”“We felt today that after not scoring, the worst result we should have got was a 0-0. We have let in a sloppy goal and that is something we need to eradicate from our matches.
“We know we need to be better in front of goal and we know we need to stop conceding sloppy goals. We got the clean sheet last Sunday, which was nice.
“We have more than matched them today so we will take away the positives from today and the negatives.
“We are capable of beating any team,” said Preston’s number 22. “It is just a case of needing to put the ball in the back of the net. We feel that we can beat anyone in this league. Sheffield United are undoubtedly going to be up near the top of the table at the end of the season.
King believes that, despite result, PNE’s performance against last season’s beaten Play-Off finalists shows that North End are still firmly in the hunt for promotion, and it is only a matter of time before the goals start to come, starting with Tuesday’s visit to Scunthorpe.
“That’s probably the reason why they have been up near the top of the league the last few years. We need to get that into our game. We had enough chances in front of goal today to win the game, but ultimately we have not taken any of them, and we need to work on that.”
“They were clinical. They had the chance early on and from our point of view it was a sloppy goal. It was a straight ball and Kitson’s finished it but sometimes you need that in a game. Especially away from home, if you get a chance you’ve got to finish it.
The ex-Woking midfielder said North End can learn a lot from Danny Wilson’s side as they look to regain their Championship status at the second time of asking.
North End dominated possession for the majority of the second half but failed to find the breakthrough against a stubborn Sheffield United defence.
“Hunty [Paul Huntington] nearly nicked us a well-deserved point at the end but the keeper has pulled off a great save. Things like that happen. The keeper has pulled off a worldy there which could have nicked us a point, but I think we had enough chances before that to score and to win.”
“We controlled it for large periods, although we possibly played our football a little too deep. We at least deserved a point, if not the win.
“It is always disappointing when you lose, especially at home. Our home form has been good so far this season and I did not really think we were ever in danger of losing today’s game.
King struggled to hide his disappointment about the result after the game, as he revealed he believed that t Lilywhites had at least deserved a draw.
Graham Westley’s side controlled the game for the majority of the 90 minutes, but failed to convert their chances, as Dave Kitson’s solitary strike just before half-time ensured the Blades travelled back home with all three points.