Preston boss Ryan Lowe was disappointed with the goals his side conceded as they were beaten 4-2 by the Blues at Portman Road and sees no reason why Town can’t finish in the top two this season.

Lowe was frustrated by his side’s display before the break with his team going in 3-1 down.

“I was obviously disappointed with the first half,” Lowe said. “You can’t give a good team like Ipswich three goals in the first half and we have done.

“We knew what was coming with the first one - we showed it them yesterday and worked on it all week. We just watched it back with them and that’s the disappointing part, because [coach] Peter [Murphy] works hard on them and gives them all the information.

“It was probably a lack of communication with that goal, a player thinking someone was going to block the pass and they’ve got attracted to the man, not the ball. That has been a bit of a killer.

“The second one, the kid cannot just run 60 yards and put it into the bottom corner.

“The third one just epitomised our afternoon I think. A corner, second phase, third phase, it doesn’t come out and then it’s a tap in where we are nowhere near the numbers in the box.

“We made a few changes at half-time and came out a lot better. Then, when we’re really pushing second half, they do us on the counter if you like, and come out with the ball when we should win those duels. So, overall, a tough afternoon.

“We asked for a bit more desire and belief second half and the lads did that. At 3-2 you have always got a fighting chance of getting a draw, but we didn’t come out with the ball on the right and you cannot leave good players unmarked - because they punish you.

“That is certainly what happened today. The lads have just watched the goals back, because I won’t see them for a new days now and they cannot dwell on it, nor me. They are all in admittance that it wasn’t good enough - for any of the goals - which is pleasing for me as the manager.

“A lot of people probably thought we wouldn’t get anything out of the game, but I did and I wanted my players to.

“It has probably been one of the toughest weeks since I’ve been here, in terms of the goals we’ve conceded and how we’ve conceded them. I was pleased for large parts of Leicester and for large parts of today - second half especially - but if you want to do anything in the division you’ve got to be better all around.

“And, if we are going to have a soft underbelly like we did today, with the goals, it is not going to fit.

“So, that is up to me to make sure that doesn’t happen. The lads are aware of that and we’ll have to reset now.

“I’ve looked at the table and we are still third, which is a massive positive, but the week has been a bit gruelling. So, we will have to take our medicine and move on quickly, but we’ve got to be better.”

Lowe admitted he shouldn’t have picked skipper Alan Browne, who had been ill earlier in the week and missed the 3-0 loss at Leicester on Wednesday.

“That is my bad, really. I probably shouldn’t have played him, but the captain wanted to play,” he conceded.

“He wasn’t feeling well before the game. We asked him but he is never going to say; I needed to take that out of his hands. You could see first half he wasn’t quite at it. He did alright, but when you’ve got someone of Alan Browne’s quality, you want him in and around your team.

“We thought he’d be okay, but he wasn’t, hence why he went off at half-time. And we needed to freshen it up, so we did what we needed to do.”

Lowe says he’s happy to be third at this stage, albeit eight points behind the Blues, who are two points off the top-of-the-table Foxes.

“We’re not setting precedence or making statements, we just want to get as many points as we can and the two teams that we’ve played on Wednesday and Saturday respectively are flying high, but we had a spell of flying high and we’re just sitting behind them,” he reflected.

“We’ve just got to take it on the chin, we’ve got to learn from it and we’ve got to be better next time we play.”

While everyone is tipping Leicester to win the title, does he believe Town can join them in the top two come May?

“If I told you they’re going to go up second or win the league, [Town CEO] Mark Ashton would probably pick up the phone and tell me, ‘Don’t go saying stuff like that!’” he said.

“They’ve got a fantastic manager, they’re well equipped, they’re well backed, they’ve got fantastic people in like Mark Ashton, who are leading from the top.

“And in that they’ve got some fantastic players, so why not? We wish them all the best and I think Kieran’s done a fantastic job since he’s been at the football club and we wish him all the best to try and continue that in the Championship, until next time we play them.”

Photo: TWTD

Flamencaman added 22:16 - Oct 7 Kind words from a disappointed manager, thanks Ryan sure you’ll be in the play offs
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Europablue added 23:15 - Oct 7 If you don't keep up the pace at the top, there are plenty of other sides waiting in the wings to overtake you in the league. I'd like to hope that Preston can hang in there, but Leeds, Middlesborough and maybe Southampton could all find themselves in the top 6 by the end of the season. I can't see anyone catching Leicester. We just have to take each game as it comes and the way we play, we have a great chance of staying in the top two. Always going for wins over settling for draws wins you way more points than you lose over the season.

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warfarinman69 added 23:54 - Oct 7 I've always liked Ryan Lowe as a manager. Gracious words. I think they will be top 6. We need to tighten our central defence, 2 sloppy goals in recent weeks, but no doubt McKenna has this in hand. If so, Automatic is not out of the question.
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SussexTractor added 00:15 - Oct 8 Well said Ryan Lowe. Gracious in defeat and his comments are correct. Ipswich just might make the Premier League !
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oldblue added 06:54 - Oct 8 Easy to say nice things about opposition coach when we've won..truth is Preston were poor 1st half ..we could have had a couple more ...I can't see KmK playing an ill player ..Lowe should have been stronger . 2nd half Preston always going to be better after halftime rollicking and we had subconsciously won the game..but good in game management and a strong bench secured the win ..Lowe was arguing with Brady before the break and said to his coaching staff sub him and lo and behold he didn't play 2nd half ..so another chink in the leadership of Lowe if his players are arguing with him...easier to talk about our intentions than to stop us...and Williams goal was sensational..pace ..power .. determination and a cool finish ...we were average second half but that's a wake up call that we cannot afford to relax in this league...8 months to go yet ...but on course .

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MK1 added 08:00 - Oct 8 It is so nice to hear opposition managers talking so highly of us. Think we are not just surprising ourselves this season.
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EC2_Blue added 08:33 - Oct 8 Perhaps he is good, perhaps not- I haven't followed PNE enough to form an opinion. Either way, that is a pretty comprehensive example of chucking your team under the bus which I would think will not do wonders for their players' confidence or motivation.
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Bazza8564 added 09:10 - Oct 8 “They’ve got a fantastic manager, they’re well equipped, they’re well backed, they’ve got fantastic people in like Mark Ashton, who are leading from the top. YEP! very kind words and very true, it's been obvious for some while that Mark and Kieran are very special. Im not surprised he is frustrated though, PNE showed for the first 15 minutes of the second half that they have the quality on the ball, and the movement to play around us comfortably at times, they are no mugs. But doing that for 90 minutes is a different matter, I looked at their players between our 3rd goal and half time, they were shellshocked and out on their feet. And with the best vocal support week in week out that I can remember in my 53 years supporting the blues, Portman Road is. toughplace to come !!

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Runner added 09:48 - Oct 8 I just look at the team 1 to 15 and think anyone can beat anyone else, that is why it is so tight 3 to 15. All good for us & Leicester if we keep winning and pulling away from the pack. Still a long way to go but loving the journey.
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gosblue added 07:06 - Oct 9 I thought Will Keane would cause us problems but he didn’t turn up. Maybe that’s down to our guys but it’s hard to say. Preston were the better team in the 2nd half but we still managed 1-1. Some of our boys looked tired but what a bench. A great start to the season, a well earned rest and come out bang at it at Rotherham.
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algarvefan added 18:10 - Oct 9 He did an amazing job at Plymouth and they were gutted when he left to go to PNE, seems a good manager and thank you for your kind words Ryan, I'm sure your side will be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.
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