The home game against Aston Villa was always going to be difficult. North End were without several key defenders. Andy Boyle started his first league game of the season at the back alongside Callum Woods who is not a centre back.
Alan Browne also returned from suspension but the starting eleven lacked any great depth of experience to see them through what was a tricky game against a Villa side who are rapidly climbing the table.
We will never know how good Villa are because Preston gifted the game away in the first 30 minutes. The visitors knew they had enough with Terry and Chester at the back as Preston decided to launch long balls forward to Hugill all night.
Neil has issues to resolve. The formation of 4-2-3-1 works well with a confident side pressing high and attacking quickly. The zest has gone out of Preston and the youngsters are low on confidence.
Both full backs are exposed in Neil's formation. We all know from the Birmingham game that Sean Maguire cannot defend and his main aim is getting forward. It is troubling that he is forced to cover a full back and Fisher was drastically exposed early in the game before the wingers swapped over.
Fisher himself looked lost playing half way between a full back and a winger. Earl was also exposed as well at times but did well until half time when he was removed due to injury.
Despite the injuries the goals were avoidable and Villa were not made to work for their victory. Chester headed home from a corner in the first five minutes.
Ben Pearson then erroneously gave the ball away setting up a Villa counter with numbers. They worked it well for Snodgrass to finish. My suspicion is that if Villa had been in the mood it could have been more.
The night went from bad to worse as Woods and Earl were both pulled off at half time with suspected knee ligament damage. O'Connor came on for his league debut at left back whilst Browne played as an emergency centre back with Gallagher anchoring midfiield.
The game was steadier in the second half as the midfield of Gallagher, Pearsn and Johnson was compact stopping the vistitors flow although it was rare that Preston troubled the opposition backline.
Preston have not won for several weeks and it is concerning. They have slipped into midtable. The injuries are always a concern but confidence is low and Saturday at Ipswich will be another makeshift side.
Neil needs to address the alarming rate that Preston are conceding. If North End are failing to score then they always look likely to concede. The formation does not suit clean sheets. Either the formation changes as in the second half or the wingers are clipped to assist more going back.
Preston need the international break to arrive for players to recover. It could be a long two months until the January window opens before reinforcements arrive.