Ratings from WLS and, apart from Dykes who to me deserved another point, I cannot argue with them:
Murphy Mahoney: 8 Given his senior debut at very short notice because Kieren Westwood was ill, the 20-year-old performed superbly, producing a number of fine saves.
Moses Odubajo: 6 Started well and won a couple of important early challenges. But faded after that and offered very little going forward.
Dion Sanderson: 6 Better than in his previous outing for Rangers, but his loan spell can’t be regarded as a success.
Jimmy Dunne: 6 Fully committed as always, but was caught out in the build-up to Preston’s all-important second goal.
Sam McCallum: 5 Totally ineffective at left-back.
Sam Field: 7 Had a very decent game in midfield, where Rangers were generally very poor. He won several challenges, won a penalty, and was his team’s standout outfield player.
Stefan Johansen: 5 His poor form continued. Anonymous in midfield.
Luke Amos: 5 Hooked in the second half after also failing to make an impact.
Andre Dozzell: 5 Very poor. Missed an excellent early chance and gave the ball away a number of times.
Ilias Chair: 6 Tried hard to create and looked bright in the opening stages, but ultimately was unable to affect the game.
Lyndon Dykes: 4 Awful. Sluggish, heavy touches galore and generally offered no attacking threat at all.
George Thomas: 6 Came on and ran around.
Andre Gray: 6 Rangers looked better after his introduction, although he missed a good chance before later scoring a consolation goal from the penalty spot in the final seconds.
Charlie Austin: 5 Did nothing of note after coming on for Dykes.
I didn't watch the game live but I watched the full 90 minutes yesterday. Until I watched I hadn't realised we set up with a 4-4-2 formation although it would have been nice to see Albert given a chance to have play in his natural wide role.
Apart from our finishing and some good saves from the Preston goalie we did ok in the first half and I thought we were the better team. Defensively Field played a deeper holding role and seemed to win every high ball down the middle. Odubajo looked solid enough as did Sanderson but the normally reliable Jimmy Dunne looked a bit unsure without Barbet and Dickie. Sam McCallum doesn't look match fit and maybe that added to Dunne looking so unsure.
I thought Chair looked back to form early doors and made the Preston goalie pull off a good save. Misses his mate Willock. Chair seems to be the only player who offers some spark.
I'm struggling to know what's the matter with Johansson because it was another game where he offered next to nothing and it was one of those matches where we needed the captain to step up and show his leadership qualities but nothing. Dozzell and Amos were both quite average and didnt offer much. I'm not sure that either Amos or Dozzell are good enough for a team who want to challenge for promotion, neither offer the consistency required.
At the start of last season I thought Dykes was a waste of £2m but he improved when Charlie arrived and started yelling at him. Unfortunately Dykes has actually regressed and is now worse than he was when he joined. Austin offered little when he came on and I always expect more from Gray than we actually get.
With the Preston goals coming just before and just after half time I thought we needed a boost and for me I think Warburton should have brought on Albert and told him to get at the Preston defence. Warburton decided to bring on Thomas who I dont think offers the same threat.
Overall I thought we should have got something from the game and it was an improvement on recent performances. Both goalies kept their teams in the match at times and our young goalie deserved our MotM award.
With the likes of Willock, Dieng and Dickie being some of our most saleable assets and with Barbet looking to retire back in France this could well be the sort of team that we start next season with. It's all a bit worrying because at the moment we would be cast iron certainties for relegation.
Ha - just posed the ratings under the actual match thread! I agree with all of them, blunt language and all, except Dykes who (if Gray was awarded a 6) did not deserve a 4. No doubt that Mahoney was MotM!