Marti Cifuentes expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of sought-after midfielder Bilal El Khannouss as Leicester suffered a 2-1 loss at Preston in the Sky Bet Championship.
The 21-year-old was substituted for Patson Daka at the start of the second half after a lackluster showing in the first 45 minutes, but Milutin Osmajic’s 85th-minute decisive goal ensured the Foxes left Deepdale without points.
On El Khannouss, the Leicester manager said: “I was not very happy with Bilal’s performance. I always expect a lot with players of this quality.”
Cifuentes added: “I was obviously not happy with the performance of the whole team in the first half, it was not just about Bilal. But I am more demanding with the best players and I think Bilal is a fantastic player.”
A bright spot for the visiting manager was the display of 16-year-old substitute Jeremy Monga.
The young player appeared to have secured a draw for Leicester in the second half after Alfie Devine’s well-executed seventh-minute opener, providing a genuine burst of energy for the faltering Foxes.
“What I know is that he’s a very fantastic player for his age,” Cifuentes said. “The thing that I value the most from him is that he is humble and at the same time he is very hungry when he plays on the pitch.
“He just wants to enjoy playing football and he has the freedom from me to make sure that he plays and expresses himself on the pitch. I’m very happy for him, not only because of the goal but for the way he performed in this game and the way he is growing since I’ve been here.
“I think he’s taking steps to understand the game better and hopefully we can enjoy him here for a long time.”
On the match, Cifuentes added: “We spoke about how to defend against (Preston’s balls over the top) and the first goal was poor. It was not easy for us to break the low block at that moment. They were playing with eight and nine players behind the ball.”
Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom was thrilled with the late triumph and praised a change in mentality from the previous season.
He said: “We have had many performances like that and they have been draws and that’s the big difference. I thought we should have been more in front to be fair and then they equalised. But I don’t want us to settle.
“If we are brave and we go for it and they get the second then we lose a point but if we’re brave and go for it and get the second, like we did today, we’re gaining two. It’s just those nudges and those shifts in mentality.”
Heckingbottom also showered praise on Thierry Small after the wing-back’s dynamic performance was capped with an assist for Osmajic’s winning goal.
He said: “Thierry had a role today where sometimes he was defending and sometimes he was a left winger and to enable him to do that (Andrew Hughes) had to play really well behind him.
“As good as Thierry defended today, I don’t want him defending all game. We were lopsided in that respect and he played higher and I was really pleased.”