Preston boss Ryan Lowe has admitted that he wanted to bring on Scott Sinclair against Hull City but had to try and seal a 1-0 win.
North End claimed another fine away win on Saturday afternoon, beating Hull 1-0 at the MKM Stadium thanks to a Cameron Archer goal.
Archer’s fine finish from a Ben Whiteman pass was enough to give Preston all three points, adding another away win to the tally after success at Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion.
North End saw the game out well, keeping a third clean sheet in the last four games to leave Hull frustrated.
Lowe had to use his substitutes wisely to see out the game so well, with solidity the key over attacking firepower.
Ched Evans came on with his hold-up ability key to keeping the ball in the Hull half, whilst Daniel Johnson added legs in midfield.
With his last change, Lowe chose to bring on Ryan Ledson for Archer, meaning Johnson ended the game working off Evans in attack.
Ledson joined Alan Browne and Ben Whiteman in midfield, helping North End see the game through and clinch the win.
That may have been frustrating for attacker Sinclair, who had to sit on the bench for the full 90 minutes without kicking a ball.
Sinclair is desperate for playing time given that he is out of contract at the end of the season.
The former Celtic hero needs to either prove his worth to Preston or show that he can make a difference elsewhere.
Right now, that just isn’t happening for Sinclair, and he is down Preston’s pecking order with Archer now on board.
Lowe has admitted to iFollow that he was going to bring Sinclair on against Hull, but had to do the right thing for the team.
That meant bringing on Ledson instead, and clinching the win means Lowe ultimately made the right decision.
“It’s tough at times, I said that to Scott, he was coming on the pitch at one point and then we have to change to make sure we shore it up and Ryan comes on, but we’re a squad, we’re a family, we want to win together, we lose together, we draw together,” said Lowe.