Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe discusses team selection after heavy defeat to Middlesbrough and half time switch

PNE were on a seven game unbeaten run going into the match but with Ched Evans unavailable through injury, Lowe opted not to replace him with one of two other strikers waiting in the wings.

Instead, he brought Ryan Ledson into the side and went with two no.10s in behind Tom Cannon. Preston were penned in for the vast majority of the first half and then changed their shape at half time, subbing Ledson off in favour of Troy Parrott, returning to their usual 3-5-2.

“You can look at that,” Lowe said. “We couldn't get out of our own half in the first half regardless of what shape it was. We kept sinking and sinking, we were deep, we had Ledo and Ben Whiteman in there and the distances were too big.

"We showed them at half time and I felt that at 1-0 we created some opportunities late on in the first half and we just thought if we got another striker on we might have been able to create a bit more.

"I don't think the goals were anything to do with the shape or the formation or the tactics. We just didn't really lay a glove on them in certain areas. Before the goals, they could have been avoided and that's what I'm most disappointed with.”

Boro are gunning for automatic promotion in the Championship and their 4-0 victory did those aims no harm. With the change of shape to go more defensively and conserve themselves in the game, it could be argued that PNE gave their hosts respect and came away from what had been serving them well going into the match.

Lowe didn’t think his side gave Boro too much respect and wondered whether they were just too good, although that is something he’s to look into.

He said: “I didn't want to pay them any respect because ultimately we're fighting for three points the same as they are. Ultimately I respect what they're doing and what they are but on a pitch it's man for man. You go out and win the war if you like and that's certainly what we didn't do.

"They have got some good footballers but so have we with the way we've been playing. When you come here you don't just think I'll leave him or I won't tackle him, that wasn't the case.

"Whether we couldn't get near them because they were so good or what, I'll have to have a look at it back but there were definitely some areas and times in that game where we could have made challenges and we didn't.”