Boss Jim Magilton said the 2-1 home defeat to Preston North End must serve as a "wake-up call" to his players. Goals from Pail McKenna and Simon Whaley won the game for the Lilywhites after Kevin Lisbie's opener.

Magilton said: "We obviously got off to such a flying start - it was a fantastic goal, great for Kevin Lisbie.

"Because we had such a fantastic home record last year, some of our lads thought it was automatically going to happen.

"We got punished for a sloppy 15 minutes. We didn't have a sense of urgency.

"As a result of that, we start the season with a defeat. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe it's a wake-up call.

"We didn't give them enough respect. Their first goal was a great strike, but the second goal was a schoolboy error.

"We had a lot of possession in the second half, but we never really carved out any clear-cut chances. Our wide players never got going and Pablo wasn't on his game.

"There were some nerves out there, which is understandable, and it will take time for the new players to gel in, but we have to move on and put it right on Tuesday night against Orient."

Preston boss Alan Irvine was happy to see work on the training ground pay off: "We've been doing quite a lot of shooting in the last week or so and doing it specifically to players' positions.

"Paul McKenna has been striking the ball well. He is a very good player, there's no question about that. It was a very good strike. When it was rolled across to him, I fancied him.

"As far as his overall display was concerned, he has carried on. He was terrific for us last year."

He felt his side did well not to let the early goal affect them: "It was a case of regrouping and recovering psychologically as much as anything.

"We had worked so hard during pre-season. We came into the game feeling very good about ourselves.

"I think our season started at a quarter past three. That was the first time we made a pass, I think.”

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