The boss saw his side have the majority of possession in the Deepdale clash but they couldn't convert pressure into goals as the Toffees won 1-0 in front of a healthy 10,322 crowd.

Irvine used all four of his strikers at various stages last night, starting with Chris Brown and Brett Ormerod, before switching to a Neil Mellor/Karl Hawley partnership.

Brown's substitution just before half-time was an enforced one – the ex-Norwich player hobbled off after going over on his ankle.

But the injury is thankfully not thought to be a serious one – Irvine just did not want to take any chances with the fitness of his players with the new season a little over a fortnight away.

Reflecting on the defeat to Everton, where he was assistant to David Moyes for five years, Irvine said: "I got a lot of what I wanted out of the game.

Click the play button above to hear Alan Irvine talk about North End's performance.

"I thought we passed the ball really well, we were very much in control as far as possession was concerned – we actually got 27 crosses in which was pleasing.

"But we did not look like we were going to score a lot of goals – we lacked that cutting edge up front.

"I was delighted with everything up until the final third, but we'll have to do better in that department. We've not done an awful lot of work in that area yet, although we will turn our attention to that soon.

"There is no doubt we need to score more goals. We played some controlled football. I was really pleased with how we built from the back and played through the middle.

"The hardest bit is in the final third. That is where we need to have something a bit more special to open the door.

"You need some guile to open up defences, especially one like Everton who had two internationals playing at centre-back."

More match reaction:
>> Hear more from Alan Irvine in our PNE v Everton podcast special.
>> Irvine hails fantastic Everton fans
>> Match report: PNE 0 Everton 1