Nigel Pearson praised the character of two-goal hero Rob Atkinson after his second-half strikes ended Bristol City’s five-match winless streak.

The manager had accused his team of lacking spirit and application in last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Birmingham and the centre-back did not escape his anger.

Atkinson’s response was to head the Robins in front from Mark Sykes’ 54th-minute cross and then grab the winner with another header from a stoppage-time corner.

Andrew Hughes looked to have earned Preston a point with an 82nd-minute shot, but it proved in vain.

Pearson said: “Rob needed a good game after Saturday and he wasn’t alone in that.

“He is in the team to defend and I’m pleased he did that well tonight because we were poor in that respect at Birmingham.

“The goals capped his night and I’m pleased with his response and that of the team collectively to what happened at the weekend.

“Saturday’s performance was out of character and it was important we got back to where we are as a team.

“We needed a victory and I’m pleased the players showed the necessary effort from the opening minute to the end of the game.

“I’m not going overboard with one win. It has helped us climb the table, but Saturday’s performance is still fresh in the mind.”

Pearson praised the contribution of goalkeeper Max O’Leary, who was preferred to captain Dan Bentley between the posts.

“I keep saying that when players get an opportunity they have to take it and Max did that tonight,” Pearson added.

Preston boss Ryan Lowe made no attempt to disguise a display that fell well short of last weekend’s 3-2 win at Norwich.

He said: “We weren’t good enough. We were flat and not good with our passing. I’m disappointed with the performance.

“Even at 1-1, I didn’t think we could win the game. But I thought we had got a point and we should have seen things out by defending that corner.

“There are no excuses. It’s frustrating because we have good players, but we didn’t showcase that tonight.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to Deepdale after a tough period on the road, but I’d rather be going back there with a point.

“For some reason there was a lack of energy out there. Some players are out on their feet, but I didn’t want to make too many changes.

“We found it hard to get in behind Bristol City and they got in behind us. They were up for it for obvious reasons, but we should have done better.”