"We are still right in there in the promotion race. There is a terrific scramble going on for play-off places and it's going to be very close but we are looking upwards and not behind us."
There was controversy about Town's first goal, which Georges Santos seemed to clearly handle the ball in the build-up, something that Joe Royle however saw a different light of: "I think their fellow pushed Santos before the ball hit his hand and my take on the incident is that it could have been a penalty to us."
"Preston had three big central defenders and were hard to break down. The first half was a bit of a stalemate but, in terms of a professional performance, it's the best we have been for a while. Preston are a decent team who came here to contain us.
Meanwhile Royle had special praise for a number of players, with Georges Santos and Ian Westlake in particular impressing: "Santos was terrific, while Ian Westlake is in a good run of goals."
Talking about the subs he made, Royle admitted he felt sorry for Spanish striker Pablo Counago, who due to a poor first half midfield display and some good marking, was not even given a sight on goal in the whole of the 55 minutes he was on the pitch.
"I felt sorry for Pablo Couñago but nothing was going right for him up front, so I brought on Richard Naylor who provided more energy and aggression which helped to win the game for us." Royle added
"Chris Bart-Williams came on for Jim Magilton because I wanted to tighten up in midfield after we had taken the lead."
Meanwhile, understnadably Preston boss Craig Brown was furious with the poor refereeing peformance that allowed Town's first goal to stand: "The opening Ipswich goal was the turning point. It was a shocking decision because there was clear handball from Santos inside the box. I saw it quite clearly. Everyone must have seen it except for the referee.
"I couldn't understand why the goal was allowed to stand. I accept referees' decisions but this was hard to bear because, at that stage, I thought the least we would get was a goalless draw. I am not a whinger but this was a very critical decision.
"You can forget the second Ipswich goal. That came after we had sent Chris Lucketti into attack to try to save the game.
"Preston players are told to accept decisions which was why there was no protest over the opening goal. The referee has a difficult job to do but I just wanted him to be fair."