Preston boss hits back after decision on Manchester United ace Alvaro Fernandez was booed

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe has hit back at supporters who booed his decision to substitute Manchester United loanee Alvaro Fernandez during the second half of Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United at Deepdale.

With 69 minutes on the clock and the Lilywhites 1-0 down, Lowe made the decision to make a triple substitution, taking off Emil Riis, Ali McCann and Fernandez. The move was greeted by loud boos towards Lowe, who was watching the match from the Deepdale gantry due to a touchline ban.

Frustrations are running high at Deepdale following a strange start to the season, which has seen Preston score just three goals in their opening 10 Championship matches, even though, on the flip side, they have only conceded four times. They have won just twice so far this term and are yet to win on their own patch.

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But while Lowe understands the supporters' frustrations, he has admitted that he was surprised by the reaction to his decision to make a triple change when he did. He also directly addressed the withdrawal of Fernandez, admitting that the United youngster had earlier taken a knock to his thigh.

"Yes, disappointed," said Lowe, as quoted by Lancs Live. "What I will say, is that these fans pay their hard-earned money and they can voice their opinion, rightly so. But, what they don't know is that Alvaro took a knock to his thigh at half-time and was struggling to run towards the end. I had to freshen it up, but the lads coming onto the pitch represent Preston North End well.

"I get the frustration, but you have to look at the other side. A lot of thinking goes into the changes we made; Ali and Alvaro were nearly covering 8-9km already. At some