Alan Sheehan | It was not pretty, but it was all about the result

Caretaker head coach Alan Sheehan admitted the performance was not what he had hoped for but was delighted to see Swansea City grind out a 2-1 win over Preston North End thanks to a pair of fine finishes from Jamie Paterson.

The hosts had found it hard to break down a stubborn visiting side during the opening half, but got the breakthrough on the hour when Paterson expertly guided a Matt Grimes pass into the bottom corner with a lovely first-time finish.

The lead lasted just seven minutes as substitute Liam Millar levelled for Preston, but Paterson was on hand in stoppage time to sweep home a left-footed in the fifth of seven added minutes.

And, while Sheehan acknowledged it was not the prettiest of displays, he was pleased with how the squad showed patience and kept going to pick up three points.

“It was not the prettiest of performances but we won the game, which was important for us to get that result at home,” he said.

“They are a big physical team, they had made changes from the weekend and they came to try and spoil our play.

“In the first half we were a bit slow with the ball, and then we were flicking things around and looking for that perfect goal.

“We spoke at half-time about wanting to lift it, and it was a strange game really because I don’t think we ever really got to our best, but two moments of quality from Pato win us the game.

“We talked about needing more quality in the final third and Pato has provided that for us.

“We are coming up to a tough period, so we are delighted with the win in the circumstances.

“It was about the result tonight, we want the performance to be better but we have to be delighted with the three points.”