Preston North End manager Alex Neil has spoken of his delight after his side inflicted a first league defeat of the season on Cardiff City last night.

An assured display at Deepdale saw Neil's side run out 3-0 winners over the Welsh outfit, who had won five and drawn one of their six league games going into the contest.

Neil made several alterations to his starting XI following back-to-back draws, and the changes reaped rewards as Preston moved up to fifth in the Championship table.

"I was delighted with the performance," Neil told the club's website. "It is a squad game. I made a few changes from the weekend, because the last time we played in midweek at Derby I said afterwards that we looked a bit jaded, so I was conscious of that.

"People have been criticising us for not scoring goals, which I understand, because we have had opportunities and chances to, but I was pleased that we got the goals and we managed to still keep ourselves solid at the back.

"It was a thoroughly deserved result against a team who were obviously at the top of the table and were yet to be beaten before tonight."

Next up for Neil's charges is a trip to struggling Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon.