Preston North End boss Alex Neil seemed to take a dig at one of his own players in the aftermath of their 4-1 drubbing by Watford at Vicarage Road.

The Lilywhites were always going to be up against it on their travels to Hertfordshire, as they had no full backs available against a side possessing quality like Domingos Quina and Ismaila Sarr.

And true to form it was those two men who combined for the first goal after just nine minutes, with Troy Deeney doubling the lead early in the second half from the penalty spot.

Tom Barkhuizen gave North End hope a few minutes later with a deflected long-range effort, but Nathaniel Chalobah and Joao Pedro sealed the three points for the Hornets later on in the second half.

Even though his side faded very tamely, Neil was impressed with the performances of both Ben Pearson and Ben Davies, but seemed to take a little shot at Jamaican international Daniel Johnson at the same time.

"What we need to bare in mind, and only people who support Preston North End will be aware of this - our four best players have got seven months left on their contract," Neil told Lancs Live.

"Two of the Bens being two of them and two of them, on today (Saturday), showed how good and valuable they are.

"And when they play, we are a better team there's no questions about that."

Whilst not referencing them by name, the other two players out of contract at the end of the season who Neil refers to as his 'best players' are Alan Browne and Johnson, and the former was suspended for the trip to Watford.

And after singling out 'two of them' in Pearson and Davies for having good performances, that leaves out Johnson, who Preston fans noticed the game passing by, just like it seemingly did against Blackburn in midweek.

The Verdict

Neil looks like he is under pressure at Deepdale after recent results - that's three defeats in the last four games and they've slipped to 18th in the table.

His thinly veiled comments on Johnson seemingly went a little under the radar, but it's not a good sign when you're calling your players out in public, and it won't exactly be a motivating factor to want to sign a new deal at the club.

But on the other hand, Johnson may have lost focus due to the interest of Scottish giants Rangers in the summer. Steven Gerrard was reportedly keen on his acquisition but it never happened, and because of that, Johnson's mind may be elsewhere when he's on the pitch.