Preston boss 'breathed a sigh of relief' after Wigan Athletic substitution

North End looked good value for a comfortable win after goals from Tom Barkhuizen and Daniel Johnson put them 2-0 up four minutes into the second half.

But after the introduction of substitute Joe Gelhardt, Latics came back into it, with Chey Dunkley's sixth goal of the campaign halving the arrears.

North End had to dig in during the final quarter to hang on to the points, which sent them back into the top six.

And Neil believes they made it harder for themselves than necessary, after squandering a number of decent opportunities in the first half.

"I thought we played well in spells, and I thought Wigan played well in spells," the North End boss said.

"But I felt in our good spells we were more dangerous than they were in theirs.

"I thought we scored a great early goal, Sean (Maguire) couldn't have done any more with his header that would have made it 2-0, and then Scott (Sinclair) really should score.

"If we'd taken those opportunities, we'd have been more comfortable, and we spoke at half-time about getting the next goal.

"We were determined not to rest on our laurels, it was important to get the next goal, and it's a really well-worked move to make it 2-0.

"At that point, we were really comfortable, but then we started playing as though we were really comfortable.

"We weren't getting to the ball quickly enough, and Wigan started to apply a bit of pressure.

"Obviously when balls are coming into your box, all it takes is one good cross, or for somebody to get across the front of somebody.

"I thought if they were going to equalise, it was going to come from a set-play, but we deserved to win the game.

"I was pleased to see Kieffer Moore going off at the end.

"The balls were coming into the box, and I breathed a sigh of relief."

Neil is also not reading too much into the fact his side are now back in the play-off places with a third of the campaign to go.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not really bothered what anybody else does," he added.

"We need to try to take care of games, I’ve spoken about how important this month is, that’s us now picked four points out of six, which is good.

“We’re unbeaten in five away from home, which is good, and we’ve still got the best home record in the division.

“We’re in good shape and I said after January, that’s when it really kicks in.

"I do believe that in this next five games is going to have a big factor on where we finish.”