Preston boss Ryan Lowe gets the point and takes the positives

Posted Sunday, April 07, 2024 by PA

Ryan Lowe believes the point his Preston side gained in a 0-0 draw against Watford at Vicarage Road could still be a valuable one in securing a Sky Bet Championship play-off spot.

Lowe said: “We got a valuable point which hopefully will help us but I thought we did enough to win the game.

“At this stage of the season you need three points. We came here to win and had some great chances but we just didn’t have that clinical edge at the top edge of the pitch today.

“We had to make it a bit dogged because Watford have got some Premier League quality players. We had a goal threat, but just couldn’t put it in the back of the net.

“It’s been difficult all season, it’s not just now. All we have tried to do is stay in the top half of the division as long as we can.”

Lowe had a word of sympathy for central defender Richard Hughes, who missed Preston’s most glaring opportunity just before half-time when he skewed his shot so badly it almost went out for a throw-in.

Lowe added: “I’ve seen him score them in training, but in fairness he’s the left-sided centre-half and we have players who are more capable of putting the ball in the back of the net than he is. He was in the right area and on another day he would put it in.

“We had a discussion about it as we were coming off the pitch. He said: ‘I’ll be thinking about that chance.’ I don’t want that, though, because you can’t turn the clock back, can you?”

While Lowe and Preston continue to eye the play-offs with home fixtures to come this week against Huddersfield and Norwich – the club currently occupying the final play-off position – he is aware that other, larger Championship clubs are still involved in the relegation battle.

He explained: “It says a lot about where the club is that we are still looking up. For us, Preston North End, to still be in the mix with six games to try and get in the play-offs is a massive achievement.

“We’ve got two massive games coming up this week. And we’ve got an opportunity to get six points because we’re playing at home.”

For Watford, whose four-match unbeaten run under interim manager Tom Cleverley now appears to have secured their Championship status, it is all about next season.

He has impressed since taking over from Valerien Ismael but is mindful that Watford’s winless run at Vicarage Road now stretches to 11 league games.

Cleverley said: “No, I don’t take the result in the end. It’s not where I want us to be. That’s the honest answer.

“I would much rather three wins and one defeat than what we’ve got in these four games.

“We have to try and find the balance of going for the winner and not risking the loss.

“Maybe we were a bit conservative today. It’s about finding that balance in the team.

“I was a bit concerned thought we lacked that little bit of killer edge around the box. But the game just never really got any rhythm and we just could not sustain the pressure on them.

“We just didn’t have the answers to break them down so we will analyse that. It’s not a question of quality if you look at the players we had out there.

“It’s a question of mentality to keep banging on that door and having that ruthless edge. We have to make it happen because we still didn’t get that first home win of the year.

“The one thing I have felt is that the belief (is) coming back. We’re fearless now.”

Cleverley admitted that, although he feels comfortable in the dugout, becoming a manager was not in his thoughts when he first arrived at Watford as a teenager on loan from Manchester United.

He added: “Yes, I feel comfortable. I’ve got a lot of belief in myself.

“It’s not something that was on the horizon until I came back to the club as a 27-year-old, when I thought I had a role to play in developing and helping players.”