Davies upbeat as Preston share points

The new Preston North End manager, Billy Davies, believed his side were well worth a point after their 1-1 draw with Plymouth on Tuesday evening.

Mathias Doumbe had headed the Pilgrims into a first-half lead only for Richard Cresswell to salvage a point for North End with a similar effort in the 65th minute. It was no more than Preston had deserved after dominating the majority of the game, only to be let down by poor play in the final third.

Davies said: "I certainly thought we worth at least a draw. I said to the lads at half-time we needed to get forward a little bit quicker and it was a disappointing goal to lose. The players know that themselves.

"We work very hard on set pieces but sometimes it happens. I've had all I can ask for from the players since I've been here and this certainly was another good performance."

The visiting manager, Bobby Williamson, a former team-mate of Davies' at Glasgow Rangers, was animated during the game, which was little surprise to Davies. "Bobby was moaning at the referee as usual, giving the linesman an absolute pelting and getting involved with our dugout," he said.

"What more can you ask from Bobby Williamson? That's what it's all about and we shook hands at the end and we'll go for a nice soft drink."

Davies also admits that it will be a tough season for his side, but he believes he has the players to challenge in the Championship. "Every single game is a tough match and every single game is a battle," he said.

"We know the situation and I can ask no more of the players because I thought a lot of the play was excellent. We took the game to them in the second half and the attitude was first class."

Williamson was also satisfied with a point despite seeing Cresswell's fortuitous second-half header deny his side a valuable victory.

"We've not been playing terribly badly in the past few weeks," he said. "We've just been unfortunate - even tonight with their goal. Thankfully we stayed strong and could maybe have had a penalty."

The draw meant the Pilgrims ended their four-game losing streak. "It's always important to get a result because journalists keep drumming up the stats about four defeats," he said. "But that doesn't interest me one little bit and I judge with my eyes and that's the way I'll continue to do it."