Preston boss Alex Neil looks to positives after welcome clean sheet in Bolton draw

PNE skipper Paul Huntington battles with Bolton striker Gary Madine.

After the hosts saw some early chances come and go, the derby clash under the Deepdale lights was something of a war of attrition.

ALSO READ: Tom Clarke's return can be just the lift Preston need according to Alex NeilIt ended with PNE ending their run of four straight defeats with a first defensive shutout since the goalless draw with Millwall almost two months ago.

“On a normal day you would hope that one of those chances would go in,” said Neil.

“We were hoping to try and get the three points to try and turn it around to get some more points back on the board.

“But clean sheets haven’t been forthcoming in the last few games so I thought it was important we kept a clean sheet.

“We did that with a patched up back four.

“There’s a lot of positives to take but I think we all know we can play better than that and there’s more to come.

“It’s something to build on.”