Manager on the 1-1 draw
United manager Greg Abbott gave us his reaction to the 1-1 draw at Deepdale on Tuesday night.
He said: “It’s a horrible way to concede and it’s probably made worse by the fact that we feel we did enough to have won the game.
“It’s been a frustrating period for us and we’re having to battle through it, but the lads have responded and they have given everything. There were some really big performances out there but it’s difficult to even begin to single anyone out.
“Having said that we’ve reshaped the team and they have stepped up to the mark. Brad [Potts] was fantastic just in front of the back four and he has shown us he can give us cover in another area. The back four as a whole were really solid and Mike Edwards has had another game where he has called for everything and he’s won everything.
“Chris Chantler is playing through a bit of a heel problem but you wouldn’t have guessed that. There was a block at the end there where you’d have thought he was six foot tall with the way he got himself in the way. That was typical of the attitude across the pitch.
“We’ve had our injuries and it’s important when it’s like this that the squad digs deep. They’ve done that and you just feel gutted for them that they didn’t get the clean sheet and the win. The goal is one of those where we can’t even point a finger because the delivery has come in and the header could only go in one place if it was going to be a goal. Adam [Collin] did well to get something on it so it’s just one of those things.
“There’s always an edge to these games because it’s a really important one for the fans. They came in numbers and they were fantastic for us. We have been getting a lot of stick recently and that hurts. We want criticism but some of the things have been a little bit over the top, particularly when we are working hard through what is a very tough spell. We don’t want to offer excuses but we’re in a situation where we keep losing key players at key times, and that’s when you look to the group to pull you through. By and large we’ve done that and we definitely got a big performance out of everyone tonight. If the fans can have their criticisms and grumbles but still stick behind us then we will be in a really good position to kick on. We have a magnificent dressing room and we all want success, but it doesn’t come easy. We all have to pull together and work hard and I can assure you that is exactly what we are doing.
“There is the disappointment of not having won the game when we have restricted Preston to one or two chances but we have a lot of positives to take into the weekend. If we show the same level of determination and a little bit more of the quality we saw in our play tonight then we’ll be fine.
“The injury to Danny [Livesey] is another which came from nowhere. I went along and watched the Man United game against Stoke and Sean [McGinty] is one who is really keen to play. I spoke to Warren Joyce about a couple of their players and they are more than happy to help. They know we look after their lads and if he comes here and fits in he will get the games he wants to play.
“He’s a big lad and he has pace and he knows how to read the game. He’s one we think will be a really good player and he can play in a number of positions. That gives me cover at a time when that’s exactly what we need, so it’s a good one for us.”
