It finished goalless at Deepdale on Wednesday night

Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris says Preston North End “have improved” since appointing Paul Heckingbottom as manager

The league leaders drew 0-0 with the Lilywhites at Deepdale on Wednesday evening. The share of the spoils sees them go two points clear at the top of the Sky Bet Championship table. Preston remain 20th, having collected six points from their last five league outings.

On the draw, Black Cats boss Le Bris said: “It was another tough game away, this league is really difficult. We struggled during the first half to apply pressure and we didn’t find the right balance. It was too difficult in the first half, the second half was much better.

“We changed the structure and played how we wanted to. The energy was better when we made substitutions, it changed the dynamic of the game but it wasn’t enough to score. In the end it was a good point away from home.”

PNE had big chances in the first half including an added time strike from Emil Riis - which was well palmed away by Black Cats keeper Simon Moore. Mads Frokjaer also headed narrowly wide from an inviting Sam Greenwood cross.

On those opportunities for the hosts, Le Bris said: “We were a bit lucky today, but you need luck in this league sometimes. We worked hard but we’re not happy because the performance wasn’t what it could’ve been today.”

It was the first time the two sides met since North End’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win in August - Le Bris’ first defeat in English football. It was also the first time the Frenchman had gone up against Preston boss Heckingbottom, since his appointment.

On Preston’s performances since the arrival of Heckingbottom, Le Bris said: “(They) have improved, they were much better today. He works well, you can see on the pitch there is a lot of improvement with this team. He’s clearly a good manager of a good team with a good crowd. It was difficult to play today.”