Danny Rohl demanded his players stop making mistakes following Sheffield Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat to Preston in the Sky Bet Championship.
Emil Riis poached a 29th-minute opener and sealed the match late on after an exquisite equaliser from Josh Windass just before the hour.
Sam Greenwood scored Preston’s second goal from the penalty spot in the 64th minute after Dominic Iorfa brought down Josh Bowler in the box and Rohl pulled no punches in his assessment of Wednesday’s defending.
“We have to defend better and we have to ease our mistakes,” he said. “This is an opponent that is not scoring too much at the moment and we gifted them goals.
“It’s always the same players that make the mistakes. They have to step up. This is about man-marking without the ball, keeping your opponent in view, and then you can defend as a group.
“You have the feeling that you are controlling the game in midfield but to take something you have to be better.”
Rohl was equally frustrated when asked about a lack of killer instinct in the final third but reemphasised defensive concerns.
“This is not a surprise,” he added. “I can repeat and you can report this topic. We have to do more but first it’s about clean sheets. This is what we can do as a group: defend better and stop the easy mistakes. Then, we have a chance to win games.”
The German noted that there had been no discussions regarding January transfers.
“At the moment, there has been no conversation. I try my best. I work 24/7 for this club,” he said.
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom was delighted with the mentality of his players after they secured back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
“That’s my favourite win since I’ve been here. I really enjoyed it,” he said. “Moments of good football but I really enjoyed our heart and the spirit and the fight that we showed as well.
“When we had moments in the game when we got on top, (Sheffield Wednesday) changed how they played out and we got it wrong because we weren’t listening. We didn’t have the same fire and spirit, getting things wrong, and we weren’t aggressive enough in certain areas of the pitch.
“At half-time, that masked my message to the players. I didn’t talk about all the good stuff we’d done. We had to be better with those things because then, whatever change we make, we show the will to then deal with it and that’s why it’s my favourite win.”
On Riis’s goals, he added: “You look where both of his goals were. Brilliant (positionally). But we haven’t created enough of those goals this season, so I’m really pleased with it.”
