Ange Postecoglou will hope fit-again Giovani Lo Celso can provide the creative spark for Tottenham when Bournemouth visit on Sunday.

Spurs’ selection issues have increased after Dejan Kulusevski received his fifth caution of the season in Thursday’s 4-2 loss at Brighton and will sit out the New Year’s Eve clash.

Kulusevski had stepped up in the absence of chief creator James Maddison, but Postecoglou is pleased to have Lo Celso to call upon again after a recent muscle injury.

“Gio dropped out the team because he was injured. It wasn’t by decision,” he said.

“He was going well when he got injured. We’re going to have to make another adjustment there (in midfield).

“I thought Gio, when he came on (against Brighton), was good. He was good last week when he came on (against Everton). It’s good to have him back fit and available.”

Lo Celso had scored in consecutive matches before sustaining an injury earlier this month as he attempts a redemption arc at Tottenham.

Signed for a hefty fee in 2019, the Argentina playmaker has struggled but been given a lifeline by Postecoglou and despite continued interest from Barcelona, Spurs have no intention of letting the midfielder leave in January, the PA news agency understands.

Both Lo Celso and Oliver Skipp could earn starts against Bournemouth, who have won six of their last seven games.

Postecoglou added: “Yeah, tough. Every game’s tough. We played Everton, they were on a great run as well.

“Every week’s a challenge. Short turnaround for us. Hopefully we might get Oliver Skipp back, probably the only fresh legs we’ll have to contribute to what we’re doing, but good challenge for us.

“We’re at home. Whilst we’ve had a couple of losses at home, every home game we’ve been well in them and we’ll need to be at our best to match Bournemouth.”

Postecoglou acknowledged it would be a “different” challenge compared to Tottenham’s 2-0 win at Bournemouth in August and also paid tribute to his opposite number Andoni Iraola.

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“He’s done a great job. They didn’t have a great start and it would have been very easy, not just him but the whole club, to shy away from what they were trying to build but they’ve stuck at it,” the Spurs boss explained.

“And the results recently have been very, very promising. It’s credit to him and the football club that they’ve stuck to what the plan’s been.”

Ian Evatt hailed Bolton’s “best victory of the season” as they saw off Fleetwood on a windswept night on the Lancashire coast.

Dion Charles and Victor Adeboyejo scored in the second half to leave Wanderers just two points behind League One leaders Portsmouth.

Evatt told Wanderers TV: “That was a proper performance, I’m so pleased with that.

“For me, the best victory of the season in the circumstances – the weather, the storm, the wind, the pitch was all against us really, but I thought we were just so professional.

“I think we dominated both halves really, with the wind and against it. Obviously disappointed not to score in the first half but stayed calm, stayed composed and did the business in the second half.”

Charles opened the scoring four minutes after half-time with his 12th goal of the league season and stepped over Kyle Dempsey’s pass for Adeboyejo to hammer in a late second.

“Great time to score,” said Evatt of the first goal. “I’m delighted for Dion, who I thought was excellent tonight, and then a bit of magic from Dion again with the ‘over’ for the second one for Victor.

“As away performances go, that’s a proper performance.”

Lee Johnson rued individual errors which meant an otherwise impressive battling display from his Fleetwood side went unrewarded.

“It was a tough game,” he said. “We knew the quality Bolton have – they’re a well established side in the division that’s had time to build, and an ex-Premier League club.

“But we felt, genuinely, at half-time that we had a good chance in this game. We defended ever so well in treacherous conditions, the spirit was good, the blocking was good.

“We’re not affecting boxes anywhere near enough, we know that, and we have to because wins are very important.

“You have to give credit to Bolton but again we’re masters of our own downfall with individual errors and that seems like the story of almost the calendar year. If we want to get out of trouble, they’re the bits we have to stop.

“We had 15 players, for various reasons, unavailable for this game and it’s difficult for a club like us.

“We’re not throwing the towel in, I’m well up for the fight. We’ve got 23 games now in which we need a number of wins.

“The first thing we’ve got to stop is the individual errors because there was a clean sheet in that game, and that’s what’s frustrating.”

Leeds manager Daniel Farke insisted his side should have had a penalty after losing more ground in the battle for automatic promotion from the Championship with a 1-0 defeat at West Brom.

Farke was frustrated at referee Graham Scott’s refusal to award a spot-kick for a challenge by Baggies defender Cedric Kipre on Wilfried Gnonto in the 30th minute as Leeds suffered a second successive loss for the first time this season.

Seven minutes later, Grady Diangana scored the only goal to make it back-to-back home wins for the Baggies and move them to within three points of fourth-placed Leeds.

“Why should he go down when he’s one against one with the goalkeeper?” said Farke.

“I think the whole stadium saw the situation but they decided not to give us a penalty.

“Normally if that had been a penalty, it would also have been a red card.

“There was no intention to play the ball so it was a decisive moment in the game.

“It changed so much against a side who was so focused on defending.”

Diangana’s goal came off his knee after his first attempt was blocked by Joe Rodon after Okay Yokuslu split the Leeds defence for Jed Wallace to cross.

Despite having 63 per cent possession, Leeds failed to seriously test goalkeeper Alex Palmer and Farke admitted his team lacked a cutting edge.

“We started well, but the last two or three per cent brutality to get the shot away was not there – that’s why we lost,” said Farke.

“We changed our base formation and brought on offensive players, they brought all their defensive players on and showed great commitment to block our strikes.

“We needed that last few per cent brutality to win those headers or to shoot after a really tidy first touch to get the shot away.”

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan saluted a “special” performance from his side.

“It was special in terms of the commitment the players put into the game,” he said.

“We knew that to beat Leeds you can only have these special wins if you have a lot of good players, if you’re a very strong team and you play with a lot of team mentality, team spirit and personality.

“We found good possibilities to cross from our right side with Jed Wallace, and from one of these actions, we scored.

“The second half started balanced, but then they changed formation and were very aggressive with a lot of attacking players and we had to adapt our shape and to defend the goal we scored.”

On Leeds’ claims for a penalty, Corberan added: “I don’t know because I haven’t seen the action back yet.

“But Leeds have some of the best players in the last third of the pitch and normally they want to challenge your defenders a lot.”

Watford head coach Valerien Ismael hailed his players for holding on for a point from a 1-1 draw with Stoke despite Vakoun Bayo’s 52nd-minute dismissal.

Striker Bayo was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball clash with Potters defender Luke McNally.

The pair initially tussled for the ball and both ended up on the turf – but when they picked themselves up referee Scott Oldham was convinced he saw Bayo strike McNally as play continued elsewhere.

Hornets fans stuck with their side afterwards – and gave referee Oldham a hard time throughout.

“With 10 men we played some great football,” Ismael said. “The spirit was unbelievable in the stadium – for the first time this season I got some goosebumps. The fans gave us a lot of energy.

“I’m proud of my players because they stayed calm and showed great fighting spirit.”

Ismael agreed with the home fans’ assessment that Oldham had lost control of the contest.

“Everyone got that feeling tonight that something was wrong,” he said. “It was difficult to manage all the emotion because it was not only the players, it was all over the place.”

Oldham showed a yellow card to Ismael for dissent in the first half.

“My feeling was of injustice,” the manager said. “I know I have a job to do on the sidelines, to be an example, but I am human.”

Stoke head coach Steven Schumacher admitted his players had failed to capitalise on the red card but reckoned the decision itself was routine.

“I just saw the two lads clash on the floor, I don’t know what Scott’s seen,” he said. “It was a decision that went for us but the momentum of the game changed. Unfortunately we didn’t make the most of it.

“I’m sick of talking about referees – I’ve been on the end of a few mad decisions as well. It’s part and parcel of football – it’s what happens.”

Jake Livermore put Watford ahead in the 15th minute, bundling home from close range from a corner to celebrate his first goal for the Hornets.

Ryan Mmaee’s fine strike levelled the scores in the 34th minute and despite chances for both sides before and after Bayo’s departure there was no further scoring.

The draw extended Stoke’s unbeaten run to five matches, three of which have been under Schumacher, who replaced Alex Neil on December 19. The Potters are 19th, seven points clear of the relegation places.

“We showed some good character, especially after going 1-0 down from a set-piece,” he said. “That was a disappointment but we responded really well.

“It was a great finish from Ryan. It was a goal he deserved. He has led the line really well in the last three games.

“At half-time I said to the players that the game was there for the taking if we continued to play with some energy and show more quality in their box.

“Unfortunately, especially when they went to 10 men, we just didn’t have that killer pass that would have been the difference.

“It wasn’t a poor performance but you could see there were some tired bodies out there.”

The result left Watford in 10th place, four points off the play-offs, but the draw was an upgrade on Boxing Day’s 4-1 home loss to Bristol City.

“From minute one we were much better than Tuesday,” Ismael said.

Burton interim manager Gary Mills was “proud” of his side after claiming back-to-back wins at the Pirelli Stadium with a hard-fought 1-0 success over Shrewsbury.

The home side took the lead with their first chance of the game, Joe Powell’s corner whipped perfectly onto the head of striker Beryly Lubala, who guided his effort into the back of the net on 16 minutes.

Mills said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the attitude and application of the boys over the Christmas period.

“The willingness to defend the goal as a unit is something we’ve been working on and we’re really proud.

“The game played out exactly as we planned for, we know they’re effective in what they do which makes us so proud is what we achieved as a group.”

Despite the narrow manner of the victory, Mills was particularly impressed with the quality his side showed in the defensive third of the pitch.

He added: “The lads put their bodies on the line and showed that want to keep the ball out of the net as well as the solidarity, spirit and togetherness.

“I’d hoped the forward players would help their defenders out and put the ball in the net a few more times but they’re warriors.

“The group are really together and they want to perform for each other and the football club which is fantastic.”

Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor was disappointed with the nature of the defeat but wanted to highlight his players’ work-rate and commitment.

Taylor said: “I felt we did enough to win the game let alone lose it.

“I know it can’t be that a team only has to score one goal to beat us but we’re in a tough moment in terms of results but, more importantly, we’re in a really difficult spot in terms of available players.

“I can’t question the players’ effort but I can question the quality when we’re in those big moments when we get chances because the players have done it this season and we know they can do it.”

The Salop faithful were audibly upset with what they were seeing from their team and Taylor was keen to sympathise with the supporters.

He added: “I can hear their frustrations and I’ve got no issues with that but you have to understand where we are.

“This football club did really well last season with a different group of players and where we are now with the players we have available, we’re at full stretch.

“I knew the job would be tough but what I didn’t expect was all of these unforeseen issues where we would pick up injuries that you’d argue are some of our best players and make it really difficult for us.”

Watford held out for a 1-1 draw at home to Stoke despite losing Vakoun Bayo early in the second half to a straight red card for lashing out at Luke McNally.

Jake Livermore’s first Watford goal was cancelled out by an equaliser from Ryan Mmaee before the break.

Bayo saw red in the 52nd minute but Stoke could not find a winner.

Watford head coach Valerian Ismael handed a first start to Giorgi Chakvetadze as one of six changes to the side that lost 4-1 at home to Bristol City on Boxing Day.

Stoke brought in Ben Pearson and Sead Haksabanovic to freshen up their side after the 3-1 win at Birmingham in Steven Schumacher’s second game as head coach.

Livermore launched an early long-range strike over the Stoke crossbar before defenders blocked replies from Stoke duo Wouter Burger and Andre Vidigal.

Matheus Martins saw a drive deflected wide as Watford came again – and the Hornets took the lead from Chakvetadze’s 15th-minute corner.

Ryan Porteous flicked a header across the box for the former England midfielder to bundle over the line. It was his first goal since netting for West Bromwich in an FA Cup game with Chesterfield in January.

Mmaee sent a Stoke chance wide before Yaser Asprilla thumped a drive straight at Potters goalkeeper Jack Bonham.

Mmaee fired Stoke level in the 34th minute after Haksabanovic’s run down the left saw the ball bounce off Ryan Porteous to the Morocco striker, who turned to evade Tom Dele-Bashiru before blasting beyond Hornets keeper Ben Hamer.

Junior Tchamadeu missed a great chance for Stoke to take the lead straight after but his shot was too high.

Ismael Kone was booked for a challenge that left McNally requiring treatment. Referee Scott Oldham then showed a yellow card to Ismael for complaining about Stoke challenges that went unpunished.

The half ended with Livermore booked for a late challenge on Haksabanovic – and boos for the referee from the home fans.

Chakvetadze began the second period with a 25-yarder that Bonham touched on to the bar – but Watford were down to 10 men in the 52nd minute when Bayo was shown a red card.

The striker tangled with McNally and, after both players had picked themselves up, appeared to lash out at the Stoke defender with an elbow in full view of the official as play continued.

Hamer came out to make a fine block to stop Bae Jun-ho, played in by Haksabanovic, from slotting Stoke into the lead in the 65th minute.

Watford were still dangerous though, with Bonham denying Asprilla before substitute Mileta Rajovic scooped an even better chance over.

Hamer denied Mmaee a second with a reflex stop, and then had to save low down from substitute Lewis Baker but that turned out to be the game’s last clear-cut chance.

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna admitted his sickness-ravaged promotion chasers did not do enough to take all three points as they were held to a goalless draw by struggling QPR.

The Tractor Boys lost the chance to pull away from the chasing pack in the Championship and have now gone four games without a victory and failed to score at home in a league game for the first time since October 2022.

The result saw Ipswich fall eight points behind leaders Leicester, with the gap to third-placed Southampton just three points, while QPR stayed in the drop zone.

McKenna said: “I didn’t think it was a very good match or general performance or general atmosphere.

“It was a really difficult build up to the match right up to the two minutes before kick off when Nathan Broadhead is vomiting in the dressing room and there’s a few players with the vomiting bug and probably a couple more to come.

“So difficult build up, it wasn’t a great game and of course there’s a lot of factors behind that. It’s the third game in six days after a massive effort, the players are humans.

“I thought that the effort levels, especially in the second half, were excellent and we tried really, really hard and had some chances to win the game.

“Didn’t give up any chances in open play, gave nothing away, had a couple of chances to win it but didn’t do quite enough in the performance to win the game.”

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes was pleased with his team’s response to the 2-0 defeat on Boxing Day at Millwall.

He said: “It was a good answer from my guys after a disappointing performance on Boxing Day against a very good side.

“I like Ipswich the most in the league, the way that they play they have been really, really strong so far this season, especially playing at home: scoring a lot of goals creating a lot of goals, creating a lot of chances and I think today we did a good job.

“Sometimes football is a little bit more than just the tactics and the training – the togetherness and the capacity to build as a team some kind of identity and I think that today we did that.

“I think that the answer from the guys in the terms of how committed they were against a very good team was excellent and I have a feeling that we competed at a very good level during the whole game and we had some marginal situations.

“We hit the post with the most clear chance of the game, probably.”

Bristol Rovers manager Matt Taylor saluted veteran striker Chris Martin after he took out his “frustration” on Charlton with both goals in a 2-1 win at The Memorial Stadium.

Martin came off the bench to put the Gas ahead after 68 minutes and then had the final say four minutes into stoppage time after Manchester City loanee Slobodan Tedic had drawn Charlton level late on.

Taylor sang the 35-year-old’s praises after he revealed the Scotland international has been unhappy at having to play second-fiddle to fellow striker John Marquis in recent weeks.

He said: “Chris has probably been disappointed over the last few games not to have been starting.

“John Marquis has been leading the line well and scoring goals but tonight as the game was panning out we needed a different profile at the top end of the pitch.

“Once we got the ball into those dangerous areas he was bright and he was sharp and his first was a really good finish.

“But he has done that throughout the course of his career and I want him to keep buying into what we are trying to do in terms of work-rate and endeavour.”

Martin’s short-term Rovers contract expires in mid-January and his brace could not have come at a better time for the player and the club who ended 2023 with rare back-to-back wins.

Taylor added: “Hopefully this is another moment where a forward player can go on a bit of a run.

“Confidence is a big factor but his game is a model of consistency and he allows us to go more direct and he will get on the end of things.

“Both of his goals were classy and while they won’t go down as top goals in his overall career, they are classy finishes.

“I know he’s been frustrated over the last few games but every member of my senior group will always be frustrated if they don’t get the game time they think they deserve.

“But there’s an easy way to remedy that and that’s to perform as he did.”

For Addicks boss Michael Appleton, whose side have not won since November, the result was tough to take.

He said: “The end bit was hard to defend as a manager but what wasn’t hard to defend was the overall performance.

“We started the game really well and should have been two or three up and then we weathered the storm when we were under pressure.

“We were great in the second half and before they scored we had two or three really good opportunities

“We have done well and controlled the game and when we conceded it knocked the stuffing out of the lads.

“They showed really good character to get back into it but the second goal ruined all the good work the lads put in.

“I have to pick them up and make sure they are in the right frame of mind for New Year’s Day when we play Oxford who are a decent side.

“I have been here before and I recognise when groups need my help instead of being lambasted which is not going to help anyone.”

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick hailed the “unbelievable” spirit of his players after the 2-1 victory over Huddersfield at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Both sides missed easy chances in the first period, with Boro’s Isaiah Jones miskicking the ball two yards in front of an open net before Town’s Josh Koroma crashed off the crossbar after rounding the goalkeeper.

Second-half substitute Josh Coburn lifted over Jacob Chapman to put Boro in front but the home side were not behind for long as Michal Helik’s strike from the edge of the box made it 1-1.

Boro had the chance to win it late on from the penalty spot but Jonny Howson saw it saved by Chapman only for him to redeem himself and net the winner moments later.

Carrick said: “It’s not the perfect way or ideal way to go about it but sometimes you have got to find a way.

“The spirit is unbelievable in the group with the staff and backroom staff. It’s an effort from everywhere, a lot of clubs have injuries as well, it’s something you have to deal with and accept to a point.

“As we are in the league now, come the end of the year with everything to play for in the cup so there is a lot to be pleased about but still a lot of work to do for sure.”

Carrick was happy to see Howson net the winner just a minute after his spot-kick was saved.

He added: “It was a hell of a save to be fair from the goalkeeper, sometimes there are good penalties and bad penalties but it’s a hell of a save.

“You can see the emotion on Jonny’s face, what it meant to him and to everyone and celebrations were ramped up by the fact he missed the penalty.

“Sometimes it’s quite nice to win like that, really digging and fighting and Jonny showed that moment. It was one of those games that didn’t really come easy for us really.

“It was a slog, a grind, bit chaotic with chances at both ends and I said at half-time ‘if it is going to be one of them games then make sure we win the battle’.

“To be fair to the boys they all chipped in in different ways and I’m delighted with the result.”

Huddersfield boss Darren Moore felt his side did not deserve to lose.

He said: “I said to the boys to keep their heads up really because what’s doing Huddersfield is small lapses of concentration but credit to the players for the performance.

“It’s fine margins that split the difference and that’s what’s done us in the end tonight really. I’m encouraged because the performances are there so the results won’t be too far away.

“It’s a hard one to take but we have to take the positives from the game and take it forward.”

David Wagner criticised his Norwich players for ‘losing their heads’ and ‘doing everything wrong’ as they slipped to a second consecutive 1-0 defeat in a fiery Championship clash at 10-man Millwall.

Tom Bradshaw grabbed the decisive strike in the first half at a rocking Den as the Canaries were unable to convert sustained spells of possession into clear-cut chances.

Millwall saw George Saville shown a late red card for a cynical lunge on Jonathan Rowe after Ashley Barnes and Jake Cooper had both been booked for a pair of hot-headed altercations.

Norwich had winger Borja Sainz sent off at West Brom on Boxing Day and “angry” boss Wagner insists his team’s discipline proved fatal once again under the Friday night lights.

Wagner, whose side now sit five points away from the play-off places, said: “It was just not good enough – it was a deserved defeat at the end of the day.

“It was intense but you have to be calm, do your stuff and play football – not get dragged into the situation and get the crowd on their side.

“We’ve done more or less everything wrong when you play here, especially at Millwall away, we fought with them more than we played and we played into their cards.

“Our experienced players know exactly what it’s about here, but we lost our head and this is what makes me really angry.

“How we started, we were able to get something out of this game.

“It’s frustrating and disappointing – we started well, were good and created our moments.

“Then we conceded after a counter and totally lost the focus. We didn’t play in the right areas and never really went forward in the right areas.”

City started brightly as Barnes shot straight at Matija Sarkic and Hwang Ui-jo fired wide of the post.

But it was the hosts who took the lead in the 18th minute when Bradshaw slid in from close range after Brooke Norton-Cuffy’s inviting low delivery across the face of goal.

Angus Gunn pulled off a brilliant pair of acrobatic saves to deny both Zian Flemming and Aidomo Emakhu either side of the break.

Tempers flared on the hour mark when Barnes and Cooper were booked and the atmosphere in Bermondsey reached boiling point.

Gunn once again kept City in it with a flying stop to deny Ryan Longman before Saville saw red with two minutes remaining for a challenge on a rampaging Rowe.

Millwall are now unbeaten in four after back-to-back wins and sit eight points clear of the Championship drop zone.

Boss Joe Edwards said: “That was a pleasure to be a part of.

“It hadn’t been what it should be at The Den so it was one of the big objectives to put it right.

“It took a bit longer than we would have liked – we want a certain atmosphere and energy from the fans but it’s our job to create that.

“The fans could see from the off that our desire and energy was there, it was what we wanted to be.

“It was very difficult for Norwich to play and when it got heated in the second half, it kicked everyone on even more.

“When we then go down to 10 and we have to ride it out, the fans have to help us get through that – it was a brilliant night for us.

“Millwall away is not a fixture people look forward to playing in. We want to add an element of control and quality to our game in possession, but we don’t want to do that at the cost of that fight and aggression.”

Swansea interim head coach Alan Sheehan was proud of his side after Liam Cullen’s last-gasp free-kick earned a 2-2 draw at Coventry.

Liam Walsh had put Swansea ahead in the seventh minute before they were pegged back by Haji Wright.

Ellis Simms then fired the Sky Blues in front before Cullen’s superb free-kick in the third minute of added time.

The point came after the Swans had been hammered 5-0 by former head coach Russell Martin and Southampton on Boxing Day.

Sheehan said: “We had to hang in there at times but how we finished the last 10-15 minutes I really liked and I think we deserved a point.

“They just kept on fighting and that’s the proudest thing I can say about them.

“We wanted a response, a lot of things have gone against us in the last couple of days in terms of the result, sickness running through the camp with a lot of lads up all night sick.

“The manner of the goals conceded is incredibly disappointing but for large amounts of the first half I saw a team that I really like watching.

“We just wanted a reaction, to draw a line under it, show how we get better, can we start building a structure? I thought for large amounts of the first half and as we went into the second you saw a real identity to what we wanted to do today.”

Swansea have been without a head coach since Michael Duff was sacked on December 4, as Sheehan took charge of his sixth match.

He added: “They’re looking for the right person. Different clubs do it different and they appoint straight away but there’s a lot of people interested in this job.

“I think it’s very important the club and board get the right person to drive this club forward.

“I’m enjoying it, it’s hard and a really difficult time in terms of travelling and time away from family, a lot of sacrifices but I believe our work has been meticulous and we at least deserved a point for that.”

Despite the last-gasp equaliser, which prevented Coventry from making it three straight wins, manager Mark Robins claimed that it was a point gained for the Sky Blues.

“You don’t gain anything until the final whistle, so we’ve gained a point,” said Robins.

“The goal was poor, the wall was not set quite right, there was too much of a gap there and he just played it through it.

“We’ve played pretty well, at times we’ve had some good moves, created good chances, took some really good chances and then just maybe a little bit more concentration sees us through.

“We didn’t have enough control in the game for the last five minutes or so, there were times in the game where we did and we started to get on top and we got our noses in front.

“We conceded the goal early on but the reply was really quick, a really incisive move and a really good finish from Haji.

“The second half was too open but then the changes that I made had an impact.

“We’re disappointed that we’ve conceded that goal. Firstly the free-kick in the first place and then letting them have the gap to hit the corner.

“It was a consequence of the weight of the pressure because we didn’t get hold of the ball in the front area which allowed them to keep picking it up and keep coming at us, so that’s frustrating.

“They’ve worked really hard, the third game in a really short space of time and we were a couple of minutes away from three points.”

Danny Rohl hailed his Sheffield Wednesday side’s defensive discipline as they held on for a vital 1-0 win over Preston.

The Owls picked up their fourth victory in seven games thanks to Marvin Johnson’s first-half strike but were forced to hang on for their win after George Byers was sent off late on.

Preston had nine shots, but only two on target, as they desperately searched for an equaliser but none came as they drop to 11th in the Championship table.

Wednesday remain in the relegation zone despite claiming three points at Deepdale and face high-flying Hull next on New Year’s Day.

“It was a really tough game for us, but I expected that exactly,” Wednesday manager Rohl said.

“A big topic in our chat before the game was the importance of defending – we knew we’d have to do a lot of that tonight.

“Our defending in and around our box was brilliant. We’ve put in a great performance and done really well to get a big three points.

“The performance was not the best at times, mainly due to some poor positioning I suppose, but the players really fought all night and that was fantastic to see.”

Wednesday were backed by over 5,000 fans who filled an end at Deepdale and were not dampened by the driving rain, or Preston’s brighter start to the match.

North End skipper Alan Browne went close with a thumping drive early on before Wednesday replied as Will Vaulks headed inches over as he darted in to meet Djeidi Gassama’s cross.

Preston went close again as Browne worked the ball tidily out to Duane Holmes, and he turned inside before drilling an angled effort just over the crossbar.

But it was Wednesday who went ahead after 27 minutes as Johnson coolly slotted past Freddie Woodman after racing on to Bailey Cadamarteri’s precise through-ball.

Rohl added: “This was massive for the fans too. I think there were more than 5,000 of them here tonight, and I enjoyed celebrating with them at the end.

“I think they all recognise exactly what we are trying to do now – they can all see how close we are.

“Maybe we were a little bit lucky to get all three points in the end, but again we showed lots of that fighting spirit and we did what we had to do.”

Preston spurned chance after chance in the second half, but were given a lifeline in the 85th minute when Byers was sent off for a challenge on Mads Frokjaer-Jensen.

However, North End still could not find a way through as the full-time whistle sparked jubilant scenes for the Wednesday players and their travelling faithful.

And while Wednesday will look to ride the high from their win, Preston boss Ryan Lowe has called on his side to bounce back as they prepare to go to Sunderland on Monday.

He said: “It’s a massively frustrating night.

“There was certainly no lack of effort and determination from my lads, and the commitment was definitely there.

“We just didn’t quite do enough in the final third and didn’t get people in the right areas enough.

“We didn’t put quality balls into the right areas, and that’s cost us in the end.

“It’s about us bouncing back now. We had good moments, but we’ve just not found the finish.”

Wayne Rooney was pleased to see Birmingham keep a clean sheet after his side drew 0-0 with Bristol City at St Andrew’s.

Rooney, who has had only two wins from his first 14 games as Blues boss, unashamedly admitted that after shipping nine goals in the previous three matches, he wanted to end that defensive rot.

“I am really pleased with the clean sheet, from the last three games and the goals we have conceded,” he said.

“I thought we could have done more in attacking areas but we defended well as a group, we were compact, were hard to play through and really nullified Bristol’s opportunities.

“It wasn’t a classic to watch I get that but we had to really have a big priority today in keeping a clean sheet.

“You always want more and with the three changes I tried to bring some energy on to give us a bit of a boost.

“When you are conceding goals you look at what you can do to change that, we want to play more attacking and entertaining football moving forward – but we had to really prioritise not conceding tonight.

“When you are conceding goals you have to make a decision if you want to go full out and try and score three, four goals. We have been scoring goals but we had to make sure we were solid – that was a gameplan for us today.

Liam Manning focused on the positives of a result that keeps Bristol City within three points of the play-off places.

Manning’s side dominated possession but were unable to produce a shot on target or break down a massed Birmingham defence.

Manny Longelo was the only player to work the goalkeeper, a weak drive straight at Max O’Leary in the first half, while Robins’ Anis Mehmeti had two chances to open the scoring before the break – and Manning was relatively content after extending his team’s unbeaten run to four games.

“In terms of the control we had I thought we probably created the better chances in terms of the two headers that Anis had,” Manning said.

“I thought we restricted them to very few chances, they had a couple of shots from distance but apart from that didn’t trouble us too often.

“It was just a case of whether we had the quality to break down their block.

“Unfortunately we didn’t have. But at the same point the big positives for me were a clean sheet and another game away from home where we pick up a point and we move on.

“They had a game plan to try and stop us which for me shows an element of respect for us and how far we have come as a group that we are coming away here and they are setting up to block at home.

“Let’s give credit to our lads for earning the right for them to do that. I felt if one team was going to win it it was going to be us.”

Sunderland head coach Michael Beale is calling for his players to show more of a cutting edge after his side drew 1-1 at Championship strugglers Rotherham.

Jack Clarke’s deflected effort earned a point for the visitors and cancelled out Sam Clucas’ thunderbolt volley.

The result against the division’s bottom side saw Sunderland slip out of the play-off places.

Beale said: “We had to have a real, honest conversation at half-time because we did not really execute our gameplan. In the first half we were slow getting started.

“Other teams have come here and found it difficult. Not just ourselves.

“We started the second half in the worst possible way. But I was really pleased with our reaction.

“I want us to be less fussy and spiteful in the final third. There has to be an end product from our possession.

“We were due the luck with the deflection, over the last three games.

“There is a frustration going away. We have to recover and go again.”

Rotherham certainly enjoyed the better of a goalless first half and took the lead early in the second half.

Clucas dispatched an unstoppable 48th-minute effort after running on to Pierre Ekwah’s cleared header.

Sunderland equalised in the 72nd minute through dangerman Clarke, whose effort took a huge deflection on its way past Viktor Johansson after Rotherham could only partially clear Alex Pritchard’s cross.

The visitors piled on the pressure in search of the winner but the hosts could well have stolen the points themselves deep into stoppage time when Tom Eaves headed wide from Cafu’s cross.

The Millers have taken four points from post-Christmas matches at home to Middlesbrough and Sunderland, leaving head coach Leam Richardson satisfied.

“I think the level of effort and commitment was there,” he said.

“We probably played better than we did in the previous game (the 1-0 win over Middlesbrough).

“(Clucas’) goal was worthy of winning any game. His performance deserved the goal as well. He and Christ (Tiehi) were asked to do many jobs and they did them very well.

“Credit again goes to the players. I thought we were worthy of a positive result. Certainly in the first half we were in the ascendancy.

“We are still quite new to each other. We are not blessed with what we have available.

“I demand a minimum level of something. The players know that. We have certainly had that in the four games I’ve been here.

“I thought there was a game there to be possibly won.”

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca says his Sky Bet Championship leaders have surprised him after passing the 60-point mark before the turn of the year with victory at Cardiff.

The Foxes strolled to a 2-0 win in the Welsh capital with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Justin James producing brilliant efforts.

Leicester now have 62 points from 25 games – eight clear of second-placed Ipswich – and are chasing Reading’s record Championship total of 106 from the 2005-06 season.

Maresca’s side are now unbeaten in nine games – seven wins and two draws – and their 20th league success came three days after drawing at Ipswich.

“I am very happy for one reason, that in this moment with this amount of games, the effort from the players has been unbelievable,” said Maresca.

“To play two games in a row away from home is very difficult, playing every three days. I think the club has to be happy.

“The fans need to be proud of these players – they are and showing the desire to win even in this period.

“To finish the year with more than 60 points. I don’t think anybody expected this, me included. Now we need to continue.”

Leicester were without Kelechi Iheanacho – who was named in Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations squad on Friday – in Cardiff.

Maresca said: “Kelechi had a muscular problem two days ago. We are still waiting to see if it is something important or something just a matter of days.

“But I don’t think will be able (to play) for next one.”

On reporting for Nigeria duty, Maresca said: “It depends on the injury. If it is an important injury for sure he has no chance to go. If it is not an important injury he can go.”

Cardiff have lost six of their last 10 games in slipping to 14th in the Championship, although they are only five points adrift of sixth-placed.

The Bluebirds lost striker Karlan Grant to injury before half-time, with boss Erol Bulut providing a gloomy update.

Bulut said: “It’s a hamstring, maybe a rupture. It doesn’t look good. We will know more when he has the scan.

On the game, Bulut – who hopes to be active in the January transfer window after “positive” talks with Cardiff owner Vincent Tan – added: “I can speak only positive things about my team and we have to continue to work on it.

“I think we are in a positive way. A good way. We cannot compare ourselves with Leicester.

“I always said we wanted to be around the play-offs. We have a lot of games to push. And also in January, I hope for a few transfers to push for more.”