Preston North End manager Frankie McAvoy has revealed why Josh Murphy and Scott Sinclair aren't guaranteed starters despite drawing a blank against Derby on Saturday. 

McAvoy's side drew their sixth game in seven at Deepdale and struggled to create throughout the game. They managed just one clear-cut chance through Emil Riis Jakobsen and that was it for Preston during the game.

Attackers Josh Murphy and Scott Sinclair were brought on as they chased a winner but couldn't open up a stubborn Derby.

McAvoy admitted he knows the quality the two possess, but it doesn't make them automatic starters in his eyes. On Sinclair, he told the Lancashire Telegraph: "You are hoping (he can provide the clinical edge).

"He got one chance from a corner, or a long-throw, where he spins in the box to hit it, and the goalkeeper saves.

"He is always a threat in and around the box but that work rate he showed, I think he needs to do more of that if I am brutally honest with you.

When Murphy was brought up, McAvoy went on to say: "I think the biggest thing with Josh is that if we can get him isolated one-v-one then he can be a threat.

"The biggest part for me is when we don't have the ball; front players need to defend. Right at the death, the full-back came right inside the pitch and he needed to be shown on the outside.

"So the things like that, he needs to really learn and we had felt we'd done that when we had him back at Norwich. You can see the slack habits are still there and that is when you can get punished."

The Verdict

Murphy and Sinclair are very talented players and when on top form, it's hard to find too many better in the division than them.

If McAvoy doesn't feel they're quite right for him, then he's in the right to do the best for the team. However Preston are struggling to turn draws into wins at the moment and those two players are the type to be able to make an impact from the start, rather than as a sub.

It's finding the balance between risk for McAvoy and whether the selection for the next game is brave enough to include both attackers.