Reacting to the 3-0 defeat to Burnley, manager Ryan Lowe said he feels individual errors are costing his Preston North End side at the moment.
PNE fell behind in the 15th minute at the home of the league leaders when Nathan Tella headed home unmarked from six yards.
Southampton loanee Tella then scored a quickfire double in the second period, sealing a tenth successive win for Burnley.
Ryan told iFollow PNE: “First and foremost, I thought we started the game quite well, but then we get done by a second phase corner.
“We let the cross come in and we don’t track our man coming out and the lad gets a free header so I’m disappointed with that.
“And then you go in at 1-0 down and you’re thinking to yourself, ‘Okay, can you have a little bit of belief?’
“We made a couple of changes to go for it and then two pumps up the pitch which we just didn’t deal with have cost us.
“I didn’t think we attacked very well. I thought we were a little bit naïve in our attacking.
“We knew we could get in behind them and we were a little bit safe in that, but the goals are obviously disappointing to concede.
“The lads worked hard, but the goals can definitely be avoided.”
The defeat to league leaders Burnley marked a sixth defeat in eight Championship matches for North End, who will be looking to get back on track on Wednesday night when Luton Town come to Deepdale.
Ryan said: “I just said to the lads, ‘Are there any issues?’, and they said no.
“We’re with them every day but they have their own group that they’re in, they’re in the changing room.
“They listen to what we’re doing; we put the gameplans together for them.
“When you come up against good teams, it’s tough, which we know. This game isn’t going to define our season, what defines our season is the next five games.
“We’ll see where it’s going to take us because ultimately when you’re playing against top teams, the likes of Burnley and with the players they’ve got – let’s have it right, they’ve got the best team and it’s hard for us to compete.
“But we’ve got to keep trying to compete whether it’s them or someone else. We’ve got to get back to basics, get back to winning games and try to get as many points as we possibly can to stay in the pack.”
North End’s away supporters have enjoyed many of their days out so far this season, with the Lilywhites holding one of the best away records in the division, however it wasn’t to be the case for the sold-out away end at Turf Moor.
Ryan said: “My heart goes out to them, it does. It’s emotional for me and the players because we don’t want to be booed, but we get the frustration and I don’t want to keep harping on about it.
“We’re really trying to give them something, so please just stick with the lads and stick with the group.
“I get the frustration, but these lads are going to need you now. We’ve got a home game on Wednesday and we need them behind us.
“Just get right behind the team and the lads, and I’ll make sure they give it their all. Thanks for the following; it’s disappointing to not send them home happy.”