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The Lancashire side threw away an early lead to lose 2-1 at Vicarage Road, a result which sent them sliding further down the Championship table.

North End are now 12th having been up in third place less than three weeks ago.

Irvine was stern-faced at half-time after seeing his team get their noses in front and then leak two more goals - making it 10 in the last four matches.

But he looked even angrier at the final whistle after a second half where North End had the lion's share of possession but could not turn their superiority into goals.

Sean St Ledger put them in front after less than five minutes, picking his spot after Watford failed to clear a corner.

But goals from Jon Harley (12) and Tommy Smith (21) turned the game on its head. And the home side never really looked in danger of losing after that.

Preston could not have asked for a better start with St Ledger firing them in front before some fans had reached their seats.

Watford keeper Richard Lee had already had to dash from his box to boot away a dangerous through ball from Youl Mawene with Neil Mellor charging through.

And when North End won a corner on the right a few moments later it caused the home defence all manner of problems.

Ross Wallace took the flag-kick and got a second bite at it when the ball came back to him, his chip into the middle was only half-cleared and when it fell at the feet of St Ledger the centre-half had enough time to pick his spot, curling a right foot shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

Wallace was not far away from making it 2-0 soon after when he tried a speculative long-range effort and the ball only just dropped over the bar.

But the nervy North End defence, having leaked eight in their previous three matches, began to look uncomfortable every time Watford attacked them.

Tamas Priskin, on loan at Deepdale last season, squared the ball across the face of goal with no-one able to get on the end of it. And then Jay McEveley denied the striker with a superbly-timed sliding tackle as he was about to pull the trigger.

The equaliser was not long in coming as Watford sliced Preston open with almost every attack. Priskin danced through the middle and flicked the ball on for Harley on the left of goal, the full-back beating Lonergan from a tight angle into the far corner of the net.

Lonergan saved one-handed at full-stretch to keep out another shot from the Hungarian international. But it was only a temporary reprieve with the home side getting their noses in front after 21 minutes.

Smith romped through the middle past McEveley and, after Lonergan had spread himself to block the shot, the striker followed up to side-foot the rebolund into a gaping net.

Priskin got through again, but Lonergan got down well to block. And Billy Jones denied John-Joe O'Toole a goal when he flung himself in to knock the ball over his own crossbar as he was about to finish from close range.

In a rare attack at the other end Mellor was only inches away from getting on the end of a header from strike partner Chris Brown as it dropped narrowly wide of the far post.

That was Mellor's last act of the game, manager Irvine taking him off at the interval and sending on Stephen Elliott.

But Preston continued to cause their 700 travelling fans some nervous moments, although things looked a touch more secure at the back after the boss's half-time lecture.

Both Paul McKenna and Billy Jones had shots charged down as North End pushed up looking for an equaliser.

On the hour mark St Ledger tried to force the ball over the line in a goalmouth scramble but keeper Lee managed to smother the chance.
Jason Jarrett was sent on for his first PNE appearance in just over two years in place of skipper McKenna.

But it was fellow sub Elliott who went closest to nicking a point with three efforts in the final 10 minutes, two of them blocked and the other straight at the keeper.

At the final whistle Irvine shook hands with his opposite number Boothroyd and then stormed off down the tunnel.

Earlier Wallace was handed his first Championship start for Preston. The on-loan Sunderland winger was drafted in to replace Darren Carter as manager Irvine decided to shake up his midfield after three consecutive defeats in the league.

Wallace came in on the left side with Chris Sedgwick switching back across to his more accustomed role on the right and Barry Nicholson moving inside to partner skipper Paul McKenna in the middle.

Otherwise it was same again for Irvine with the other 10 players who started the midweek 2-0 defeat by Swansea getting a vote of confidence as Preston went to Vicarage Road in search of a result to end their mind-slump and put them in good heart during the two-week international break.

Carter dropped down to the bench. But surprisingly Callum Davidson, tipped to return after a one-match ban for his sending off at Burnley a week ago, was not in the 16, prompting speculation that the Scotland international could have suffered an injury in training.

Watford, with only a point to show from their last five league games, made two changes to the side beaten 3-2 at Turf Moor on Tuesday.

Striker Priskin, who spent time on loan with North End last season, came in for the injured John Eustace, while Jay DeMerit returned in defence in place of Leigh Bromby.

Watford: Lee, Mariappa, DeMerit, Ward, Harley, Williamson, O'Toole, Sadler, Priskin,
Hoskins, Smith.

Substitutes: Tyler, Bromby, Ainsworth, Bangura, Henderson.

PNE: Lonergan, Jones, Mawene, St Ledger, McEveley, Sedgwick, Nicholson, McKenna,
Wallace, Mellor, Brown.

Substitutes: C Neal, Jarrett, Carter, Parkin, Elliott.

Referee: Kevin Wright (Cambridgeshire).