Great Review On The Preston Site From The Manager

"I think we got a bit frustrated in the second half," Simpson said after his side failed to recreate the same football from the first half.

"We got a bit slow in our build-up play and it was a difficult game. Maybe we have to give Barnsley a bit of credit for that, they caused us problems, I thought Hayes was a handful, I thought Devaney worked his socks off and was a handful.

"I thought that if we had have continued as we had done in the first half then we would have gone on and won convincingly, if we'd have kept getting the ball out to Simon Whaley and letting him go and get at Heckinbottom then he could have caused problems.

"Unfortunately and I'll have to be honest at this particular moment I don't know why it happened but we didn't get the ball out to him and we didn't play with the same tempo that we did in the first half and that's what made it difficult for us."

The North End boss admitted that that frustration was probably felt by the fans and that some made their feelings known at the end of the game.

"The fans were frustrated at the end of the game and while I was coming off one bloke shouted that it was a load of rubbish, but we are sat third in the table so we must be doing something right," conceded Simpson.

"We were frustrated with the game tonight but I am not going to get into an argument with fans, they pay their money and they are perfectly entitled to their opinion but I'm quite sure that there are many times in recent years where we have had games like that and we have either got a draw out of them or we have lost them.

"I'm pleased that we have got three points tonight and over the season nobody will remember how we got the three points, it is a case of getting the three points and climbing up the table."

Despite the disappointment Simpson admitted that he wasn't going to let him affect him.

The gaffer said: "It doesn't frustrate me, it is part and parcel of it.

"I always say that for 90 minutes supporters are perfectly entitled to their opinion and you get it, that's the nature of the game and you have to take it.

"We are sat in a good position and it is a good victory, whether you get a win through fantastic football or whether you get it through scrapping and fighting or if you get it through the goalkeeper making a great save with his feet and the goal goes in off Patrick Agyemang's nose-end, you take the three points and you move on to the next one."

 

Hayes was a handful?</p>

You'd think he was crap listening to some people on here. Isn't just me and Ritchie that see it at least.</p>

 

You lurve him

 

RE: You lurve him

I dunno, I guess I'm almost acting like Heaney did with Boulding (which admittedly infuriated me). People go completely over the top with the nonsensical criticism of him, so I do the opposite.</p>

Childish I know, but I've caught the habit of it. Stats don't lie that he has 4 goals this season - more than almost everyone in the Championship. </p>

If he'd scored one goal and been outstanding in every game, the people on here would be saying its about goals. He's scored the goals, so now they twist their criticism in another way. </p>