Eric Kinder spoke to us about the 3-1 away defeat at Preston:

"It's a game where we have to say that we had enough chances to make ourselves comfortable but, and as you will hear time and time again up and down the country, if you don't take those chances then you are always open to getting a slap in the face. That's what has happened to us today.

I had words with the lads at full time because some of them have to be stronger in certain situations, both mentally and physically. They have had a lot of praise off me this season, but every now and then they have to be reminded that this is a serious business and things won't just happen for them. They have to put the effort in to get the rewards and they have had a timely reminder of that this afternoon.

We took the lead early and we missed two really good chances to extend it further. Ryan Bowman popped one over from a difficult volley from just in front of the keeper, then he went one-on-one at a tight angle and was unlucky not to put it away. He did everything right in the move, and it was a shame that he had to go so tight to get past the keeper. Mind you, he had no choice, so it wasn't what I would call a bad miss.

Our goal came when Conor Tinnion swung a corner in and Jonny Blake went up with the keeper. He got his head to it and it went in, so that was the start that we wanted.

It was a very good game at that point with both sides trying to play football on what was a very difficult surface.

We then had a claim for a penalty when Conor Tinnion was brought down inside the box, but it wasn't an easy one for the Ref to give. I've seen them given, I will say that, but it's not one that we will argue about. It just hasn't gone our way on this occasion. If we look at Jonny Blake's goal, I have seen officials who would have blown a foul up for that, simply because he was up in the air with the keeper, so these things even themselves out.

They equalised when Matt Duffy lost his man in midfield and the ball was clipped in to the box. It bobbled about and we couldn't get rid of it, and one of their lads did his job well by getting on to the end of it and side-footing it in to the net.

The game was in the balance in the second half. The longer it went on the more I felt that it was heading for a draw, then we threw it away with what was an awful goal.

We actually had a free kick, but it didn't clear the first man and it was headed to just outside the area. Their lad then ran the full length of the pitch, going through five or six really half-hearted challenges, and put it in to the back of the net. We have to be better than that. That goal has come from people not fully understanding the game, as that move should have been stopped in their half. All it needed was someone to be tough enough to decide that they were getting the ball, but we didn't get that from anyone and we conceded because of it.

They scored their third when it went in to injury time, but it was all academic by then. We needed the three points and it was all over for us with that when we let them get the second.

We have made it very hard in terms of getting anything from the season, but we have to keep going. We have to aim for second spot and, if we win all of our remaining games and it brings us anything better than that, then that will be a bonus.

We've already shown that we have got some character with some of the away wins that we have had recently, and we need to see that come to the fore again. We have to win every game that's left to play, and that's the target that I'll be setting.

Overall a draw would have been the right result today. The way it ended was really disappointing, but it comes down to learning about how to close a game down and about thinking about our jobs for the full 90 minutes. To concede a goal in the way that we did for their second wouldn't be acceptable at any level, and it certainly isn't acceptable for my Youth team to do it. The incident, from the delivery of the free kick to the way we let that lad just run and run, was extremely poor and it has cost us the game.

I said earlier, some of these players have to get physically and mentally stronger. I will certainly be looking at my pre-season programme with a view to making sure that the players bulk up and concentrate on their fitness levels. I want them to be fit, because we have a crop of smaller players in size next year. They'll need to compensate for that by being stronger and more mobile, so that's a challenge that they will have to step up to.

Our second years did well today - Tom Aldred was his demanding self and Jonny Blake really tried to make things happen. Si Lakeland kept going and Conor Tinnion was a constant threat. So, from a Youth development point of view, it was a good day. Those lads have learned more about themselves, and that's important. Blake and Aldred were particularly strong, and I'm sure they will take something from it. The bigger picture is always development, and that's the way it has to be.

I did give them a rocket in the dressing room, and the interesting thing will be to see how they react. If they come in to work tomorrow ready to go again, that will be the professional thing to do. What I don't want to see is any sulking or moping around. If we get that, then we get problems, because we have a game against Macclesfield to get ready for now.

It will actually be hard to finish second now, because of the games in hand situation, but I want to see them keep going. I think that if we drop any more points then it will be time to fully concentrate on next season but, for now, we should make sure that we win every game."

United - Mitchell, Lakeland, Aldred, Cleary, Swinglehurst, Law, Davison (Seaton 75), Blake, Duffy (McDougall 65), Tinnion, Bowman. Subs - Gillespie, Wood.