Wigan Athletic have 'lots to work on', admits Max Power

Latics arguably edged an entertaining Lancashire hotpot at the DW, but couldn't work opposition goalkeeper Freddie Woodman enough.

At the other end, Latics were indebted to Ben Amos for pulling off a magnificent double save to deny Troy Parrott and Emil Riis, who also hit the bar.

Nevertheless, Power says Latics will take their point and move on, with a daunting televised trip to promotion favourites Norwich up next weekend.

“It was an even affair," he said. “There are going to be a lot of challenges this season, and Preston are a well-established Championship side.

"We were under no illusions that it was going to be a tough game, but I don’t think there was much in it.

“Both teams had chances - Preston had a good chance just before the break, Ben (Amos) made a really good double save, and we had a period of 15-20 minutes in the first half where we mounted a lot of pressure.

“We had a good few half chances with balls dropping in the box, and on another day, they could’ve gone in the back of the net.

“I thought in the second half, it was a tactical game with not much in it.

"With us, you know what you’re going to get, and we kept going and had the better of the second half.

“We had opportunities to certainly work their goalkeeper but we’ll take the positives from today.

"It’s nice to get off to a clean sheet, and there are loads of positives to take but lots to work on as well.”

Almost 16,000 fans attended the big game, with Power anxious to thank the home fans for their support.

“It was a great fixture to start off with being a north west derby," he added.

“We know our fans play a big part in how we perform.

"They backed us massively last season - both home and away - and we’re going to need them again this season.

“Thank you from me for turning out and let’s have a successful season.”