Preston North End manager Alex Neil pleased to see Daniel Johnson focused on the pitch despite Rangers transfer speculation

That was the verdict of PNE manager Alex Neil who saw Johnson and fellow substitute Tom Barkhuizen score the goals which fired the Lilywhites past Derby at Pride Park and into the third round of the Carabao Cup.

North End came from behind to win 2-1, Jason Knight giving the home side the lead six minutes into the second half.

The Rams had defender Mike Te Wierik sent-off shortly after their goal for a professional foul on Sean Maguire.

As Neil looked for his side to take advantage of the extra man, he summoned Barkhuizen off the bench and later made a double substitution, sending Johnson and Scott Sinclair into battle.

Barkhuizen struck a fantastic half-volley from the edge of the box to equalise in the 78th minute, then Johnson netted the winner with a 91st minute penalty.

Johnson hadn't featured in last Saturday's Championship defeat to Swansea after news of interest in him from Rangers leaked out, causing plenty of fevered debate.

With the situation slightly calmer now, Johnson came back into the squad and Neil opted to have him as part of a very strong bench.

Neil said: "What it shows was his focus. There is always a lot of talk of players and their heads not being right and all that garbage.

"We got the penalty, with DJ it was a case of 'give me the ball, I'll stick it in the net'.

"I was tempted to start him but the problem I had was that I already prepped in my head for this game.

"I wanted to see young Tom Bayliss again in a competitive game, and I think it was important Tom got that chance."

Post-match at Derby, Neil also spoke about the unsettling nature of transfer speculation.

While Rangers have been sniffing round Johnson, it has been reported that Bournemouth are keen on Ben Davies who was an unused substitute last night as Neil rotated the squad.

Asked about Bournemouth's interest, Neil said: "There in nothing in anything about anybody at the moment.

"We don't talk about transfers through the media because I don't think it is fair on the player. People jumped to assumptions which a lot of the time aren't right.

"What we like to do is keep our counsel. If anything does happen the media will be the first to know but at the appropriate time rather than speculation which unsettles people.

"When people get unsettled that is really frustrating for me more than anybody because I'm trying to get my team ready, trying to keep focused, I'm trying to get them ready to be together and try and build something,

"When speculation comes up it is certainly not helpful."