Source: FOOTYMAD
Ferguson was happy to win ugly
PNE boss praises his goalkeeper Preston North End manager Darren Ferguson has said he was happy to win ugly at Coventry last Saturday. Ferguson saw his side win for only the second time this season and the first win on the road. Ferguson acknowledged his side didn't perform well, but praised their character in keeping going, but he had particular praise for his goalkeeper Andy Lonergan, who kept his side in the game with a string of outstanding saves. Lonergan's performance came on the back of the Carling Cup defeat at Burnley in midweek where he was at fault for one of the Burnley goals and for gesticulating to Burnley fans at the end of the game. This breach of discipline cost Lonergan a £5,000 fine issued by the FA, but Ferguson was delighted with the way Lonergan responded. Ferguson said, “You always look for responses from players, that is the true test of them. Lonners responded in the best way against Coventry. He was outstanding, making some great saves. " Ferguson thought the save from Richard Wood's 55th minute volley was particularly exceptional. “That tells me he has the right type of character. I’ve never for once worried about him, he is a top goalkeeper.” Ferguson also had words of praise for Sean St Ledger and Iain Hume who helped get the much needed win for the Lillywhites. “Sean St Ledger was absolutely magnificent, when he plays like that I think he’s the best defender in this division," said Ferguson. “For the last three games Sean has been like that, I was really pleased with him." “Iain Hume was excellent too, it was a great delivery from the corner for the first goal and a great finish from him for the second.The lad has always scored goals at this level, he’s an infectious player and ran his socks off out there. By the end he was running on empty but he showed a great attitude to keep going right to the final whistle. “When you haven’t played many games like Iain, the first two or three you can get through on adrenaline. It’s after that you need to keep a close watch on him and maybe give him a bit of a rest.” Hume, who is on loan from Barnsley, set up Billy Jones to score the opening goal and scored the second himself. Both goals came in the last 10 minutes of the first half. Ferguson was critical of his side as well, saying, "We didn't do nearly enough when we had the ball and we weren't composed enough. That's not me being critical because we showed great character. "That happens in games and it seemed liked a long 25 or 30 minutes after they got the goal back but we got tackles in, made blocks and got our head on things. "We got the rub of the green that maybe we haven't had in other games but I am a big believer that it will happen in this league, that things will turn around."
