Preston manager Alan Irvine saw his team slip out of the top six, also watched by former North End boss David Moyes ... who could be after his old job back if Everton results don't improve.

Alan Irvine: "I'm not over-happy. We have got a point, but I look for more than just a result. There are a lot of things we will need to take out of that game and improve upon.

"We were poor in the first half. I was praying for half-time to come to address some of the issues that needed addressing.

"I thought we got the response almost from the kick-off in the second half. We then started to stretch the game out a bit better than we had in the first half.

"The lads showed great character again. They don't play as well as I would like at different times, but they keep going and going.

"They deserve enormous credit for keeping going. It's a fantastic quality to have.

"One of the things we identified in our video work was that Boro are a fantastic counter-attacking team.

"We were aware that at any time we were going forward in numbers we had to be aware there might be a counter-attack.

"To get done for the second goal with a counter-attack was extremely disappointing."