'I don't think' - Preston North End dressing room reaction to deflating QPR loss

Preston North End defender Jordan Storey labelled Saturday’s performance at Queens Park Rangers as ‘poor’.

The Lilywhites were beaten 1-0 at Loftus Road, as Marti Cifuentes’ team took a huge stride towards securing safety in the Championship. Lyndon Dykes pounced on a Freddie Woodman mistake, with 20 minutes gone, to slot home what proved to be the winning goal. Storey felt North End were off the pace overall.

“We were quite poor to be honest with you,” said Storey. “I don’t think that is us. You look back at the season and what we’d achieved until 40 odd games, it is sad to see it slip out in this way. It is disappointing, because I don’t think either team were great today. With what we’ve wanted to achieve this season, to have three defeats on the bounce is gutting.

“We have got two games left and I think it’s important to really turn it around - get four or six points and finish on a high. Especially with how we started this season, it’s important to go out on a positive note and set us up for the new season. It’s maybe come at the right time, to have a few extra days on the training pitch - just to work on things.”

Ryan Lowe’s side were always on the fringes of the play-offs, but up until one week ago still had an outside chance. Three defeats on the spin, though - to Norwich City, Southampton and now the Rs - has seen those hopes dashed. North End’s number 14 admits injury blows haven’t helped, but also thinks Preston ought to have coped better and picked up some points.

“There could be a number of factors,” he said. “We were unlucky not to get something from the Norwich game, which was the nail in the coffin for us play-off wise - ultimately. We’ve had injuries and stuff like that, so you could look at that and maybe argue that’s why we have struggled a bit. Even then though, we’ve still got a lot of players who can step up and take responsibility.”