Everything Ryan Lowe said on Preston North End absences, substitutes and loss to Leicester City

Preston North End were beaten 3-0 by Leicester City on Wednesday night, with the Foxes scoring all three goals in the second half.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall netted a brace for the hosts while substitute Kelechi Iheanacho got himself on the score sheet. Preston had competed well in the first half to head in at the break with the deadlock unbroken. But, Enzo Maresca’s side’s quality shone through in the second half and PNE headed home empty handed.

Here is everything manager Ryan Lowe had to tell the Lancashire Post after the game - with Alan Browne, Jordan Storey and Andrew Hughes all uninvolved on the night.

On the defeat and 3-0 scoreline

“Definitely harsh,” said Lowe. “I thought we were fantastic for 55 minutes until they scored the first goal, which was disappointing on our behalf. We go to ground when we could’ve probably intercepted it, but listen, they have got some quality haven’t they? I thought we nullified them early on and our shape caught them out a little bit. Then, second half they tweaked it a little bit and just before they scored the second, we were then going with two strikers. So again, a tactical game, but they have got quality all over the park and when the game gets opened up, the pitch gets bigger and they’ve got quality in abundance. That is what hurt us, so the score line is probably not a true reflection - even though we didn’t have much possession, which we knew we weren’t going to. Most teams won’t when they come here, but I can’t fault the effort or commitment of the boys - it was fantastic. Late on there, we were out on our feet a little bit, which is expected. But, I thought they were fantastic without getting a result.”

On being happy at half-time

“I was more than happy to be honest,” said Lowe. “We had the best chance first half I thought. Duane (Holmes) had a great opportunity and has given the ‘keeper the eyes, but it’s just gone past the post. We got into some good positions; Pottsy definitely. But, again, they are a Premier League team in the Championship aren’t they? Let’s have it right. They defend the areas in their box very good and we couldn’t pick anything out. They get a moment of quality, but you’ve got a player in Dewsbury-Hall who shouldn’t be playing at this level. I was very pleased at half-time but we knew it was going to get harder.”

On 4-4-1-1/4-5-1 tactical set-up on the night

“It was, yeah,” said Lowe. “I think the result up to 55 minutes explains it, because you cannot come to Leicester City and open it up. I was watching them live on Sunday and there movement was different class. We didn’t want them to go through the pitch and you keep Vardy happy for 55 minutes, then Iheanacho comes on. So again, you have got to respect what they’ve got and what we’ve got. We were always coming here with a different tactical plan, because you cannot come here and play Leicester off the park because they’ll punish you.”

On having his triple sub of Best, Woodburn and Mawene ready at 1-0

“We were going to a 3-5-2 and geting a bit of energy into the middle of the park, with young Noah on the right,” said Lowe. “He is a good runner - and Woody who has been great in training, I must say. We felt that they could run us up the pitch; Duano was getting tired a bit, Robbie was getting a bit cramped and Ali was getting tired but also on a booking. We have to make sure we do the right things and we were getting fresh legs on. Lo and behold it then goes 2-0 and are fighting a lost cause.”

On whether Mads Frokjaer - an unused substitute - was ever in his thinking

“No,” said Lowe. “They are all in my thinking as such, but coming off the bench Noah has got pure energy and is getting that quality we want. All week in training he has been getting on the end of things, running with the ball and scoring goals. We just felt a little bit more energy and sometimes Noah doesn’t have to think - he is a young lad coming on to the pitch, especially with the surroundings and the club he is up against. I thought he did well when he came on and it was a little bit of freshness. We’ve had to change it round and we’ve got lads now who may be in consideration for Saturday.”

On Browne, Storey and Hughes being absent from the squad

“Yeah, well Browney was up all night on Monday with a bug and everything that goes with it, with the kids and the family,” said Lowe. “They are okay now, but there’s now way he could’ve come with us having got the back end of that bug. The doctor has been round Browney’s and Jordan’s - they just couldn’t travel with us. We had to leave them at home. Hughesy has had a tight calf so we’ve had to leave him behind, get a scan and we are waiting on the result of that. We’ve got a plan to get Browney and Storey with us tomorrow because we are staying over tonight. We are travelling to Ipswich tomorrow. The plan is to get them with us at some point. We will monitor them over the next 24 hours and see how they are, but we need to make sure they are okay first.”