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Grayson praise for Preston

Image: Simon Grayson: Superb showing

Simon Grayson hailed a superb all-round performance by his Preston team after they stormed to a 4-0 win at managerless Oldham.

Grayson's side boosted their automatic promotion hopes with a fifth consecutive league win, all achieved without conceding a goal. Oldham, with Dean Holden in caretaker charge after Lee Johnson left to join Barnsley, were crippled by a long injury list. Preston cashed in with a ruthless display, starting in the second minute when Paul Huntington headed home a Paul Gallagher corner. Chris Humphrey hit the crossbar from long range and former Oldham player Daniel Johnson doubled the lead after 32 minutes with a crisp 14-yard shot. Joe Garner forced in Callum Robinson's cross to make it three after 52 minutes, and Jermaine Beckford completed the rout eight minutes from time when he converted a pass from fellow substitute Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Grayson said: "It was a fantastic performance against a team who are up there in the table. "That sort of performance has been coming for a while because we've been playing well and making chances. We thought there would be a game when we scored a few. "The early goal gave us a perfect start and it calmed everyone down against a team with a new manager in charge. "We built from there, but even in the last five minutes we were still closing down as a team and keeping our shape and discipline. "At half-time we told the players to keep doing the same things because, with the players on the pitch and the options on the bench, we have a potent threat. "It's testament to the team's desire that we've won five games and kept five clean sheets on the trot, but we've got to keep our work rate because there are still a lot of points to gather." Holden, who was handed the Oldham job on a temporary basis after being first-team coach under Johnson, admitted it had been a baptism of fire. He said: "I was buzzing before the game and couldn't have done any more preparation, but it's a bad day and very, very disappointing. "I told the lads to be positive and make a fast start because we needed to stop Preston getting into their stride, but we conceded early because people didn't do their jobs on a set-piece. "There were too many bad decisions, especially in the second half, and we need to look at why players made those decisions in a pressured environment. "Good work ethic is a given because you've got to have that passion burning inside you, but you also need a clear mind. "There's no way it was a 4-0 game, but the scoreline tells you different and all the goals we conceded were poor. "At 2-0 we were still in the game and I thought we could get back into it, but we didn't show the right response or mentality."

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