Town boss Mick McCarthy says Preston manager Simon Grayson jokingly put a £4 million price tag on striker Jordan Hugill after the 24-year-old Blues target netted a late equaliser the sides drew 1-1 at Deepdale. McCarthy is understood to have had bids of £1.5 million and this week £2 million turned down for the former Port Vale man.
"Simon just nudged me and said ‘£4 million!’ when he scored,” the Blues manager said after the game, before confirming that the Lilywhites boss will have been joking.
"We’re playing, we’re having a game and there are two managers who know each other and they know what’s been going on, so what do you think?
"There are a certain few of us about who get on very well, who have come through the same school and appreciate what each other do and we have a good relationship and a good rapport.
"That’s all that is. If you can be friends with other manager I would say he’s one of mine.”
McCarthy was cagey when questioned on any further move for Hugill: "We’ll see what we’re doing, I don’t know.”
Reflecting on the game itself, he added: "I thought it was a really good performance from my team today, some bits were excellent.
"We defended well as well up until the last bit and I think they were unlucky because it wasn’t a great cross, Aiden McGeady just tipped it on and, sod’s law, it fell to Jordan Hugill and he scored.
"I thought we had enough chances on the break and didn’t make enough of them. So, I’m disappointed we didn’t win it but I’m delighted with how we played. It looked like being a clean sheet up until that last bit.”
Regarding Lawrence, who netted for the eighth time this season, to give the Blues a first-half lead with yet another brilliant Goal of the Season candidate, he said: "We said when it went in that I don’t think there are any other contenders.
"The end of season dinner should be interesting, there should be about five contenders from him unless somebody else steps up to the plate in the meantime.”
McCarthy was pleased with debutant Toumani Diagouraga: "He’s a good player, I’m delighted with him but he ran out of gas.
"That’s not surprising he’s not played a game at that level, at that intensity for six months. I think he showed everybody he can handle the ball.”
He felt right-back Josh Emmanuel won’t face too many opponents as tough as Ireland international Aiden McGeady: "He played very well today, he needs to play games and quite clearly he’s got a home here and he’s relishing it.
"It’s the Championship not the Premier League, he’s playing against Josh, who is 20 and only had a handful of games, but he did show his quality today. He was a real handful. Josh won’t come across too many as good as him.”
The Town manager was pleased to have Teddy Bishop and David McGoldrick back on a much stronger bench.
"We’ve had a lot of injuries, real, long-term injuries, so to get Bish back on the bench, that’s a real plus, Didzy when he came on. It makes us a stronger team all-round,” he continued.
He was pleased with recent signing Kieffer Moore’s performance from the bench: "He’s all right, he’s fine Kieffer, he’ll be good for us.
"We are kind of having to do it, nicking people out of the National League and free transfers but they all come in and compete, they’ve all done OK.
"I thought Jordan Spence did OK last week and Kieffer has caught the eye, he certainly doesn’t look out of place.”
McCarthy said the performance was more like what he wants to see from his recently much-criticised side when he sends them out.
"There’s been a lot of criticism of my negative style and pragmatism, which I think is bollocks, to be honest,” he said.
"Yes, I’m pragmatic because I want to win games and it doesn’t really matter how I win them.
"But that is how we set up to play every single week, to try and play like that. It doesn’t always happen, but that’s what we try.
"We have predominantly 4-4-2 with wingers and both full-backs pushed on, we leave three at the back, two centre-halves and a centre mid looking after it and if that’s being pragmatic and being careful and cautious then my aunt’s a Dutchwoman.”
McCarthy says he’s been keeping an eye on last night’s new signing Danny Rowe for some time: "Quite a while. I’ve a pal who scouts for me, Mike Williams, he’s been banging on at me. He watches Macclesfield a lot, he lives in Wilmslow. We kept an eye on him and we decided we were going to do it.
"He likes to take people on, he’s quick and he’s not one of those that’s quick and doesn’t want to run past people because there are those that cut inside, although he can do that from the right on his left foot. He’s all-round in that league.
"I asked some of my mates in the game in the National League what they thought of him and they all thought he was a good player and they were all of the same opinion as me that he was worth doing.
Does McCarthy believe Rowe is ready for Championship football? "We’ll soon find out, won’t we?”
The Town boss says he he hopes to make further additions before Tuesday night’s 11pm deadline: "I'll be busy on the phone doing nothing like I’ve been doing.
"We’ve been trying, it’s been really busy. I spend most of the day with the phone trapped to my earhole trying, but not getting anywhere at the minute.
"But if I get that level out of us every week, I’ll be fine with what I’ve got. If we don’t get anybody else that’s got to be a must now.”
McCarthy says Steven Taylor’s international clearance won’t come through in time for Tuesday’s home game against Derby - "It’ll be Saturday at the very earliest, I think” - and added more detail on why he won’t be fielding Leon Best again.
"He has no chance of playing for me again. I just expect more,” he said.
Preston boss Grayson said: The script was written for Jordan. I thought he played very well.
"I spoke to him before the game, telling him not to try doing anything he hadn’t already been doing over the last few months, keep doing the basics right and don’t let any of the speculation affect him.
"I am delighted for him. I thought he held up the ball well, his link-up play was good, he gave their backline a tough time and got his just rewards with the goal.
"It is probably not as late as one or two we have conceded in the last few weeks, but it just shows you what the lads are about. They keep going, they really dig deep at times. We asked more questions of them in the second half and we got the bodies up there.
"I thought they defended very well and defended the 18-yard box very well. Their keeper made saves and that’s what you expect of a Mick McCarthy team - they were organised, disciplined and hard-working, got their noses in front with a good goal and tried to make it difficult for us."