STEVE Cotterill gave his depleted side a huge pat on the back for their efforts before preparing to whisk them off for a welcome break.

The Clarets boss felt Burnley gave their all in the absence of suspended striker Ade Akinbiyi, only for Preston to grab their first win at Turf Moor in six attempts.

The derby day defeat left the Clarets with just one point from their last 15 to slip off the play-off pace.

But Cotterill felt his side showed enough endeavour in a 90-minute scrap against North End to have earned some reward.

He said: "As far as 90 minute performances go that has been the best we've had for a long time.

"We have been good in either half recently, but we haven't put together a 90 minutes like this and I feel for the players.

"Sometimes the game can be cruel because on another day, quite easily that would have been good enough to win.

"I felt we could have defended better for the first goal and I thought we dominated the game in the second half, so I am disappointed.

"But I have no problems with my boys because I feel they gave me absolutely everything. They never gave in and every credit to them."

Cotterill, who has now planned a spell of warm weather training in southern Europe later this week before the game at Brighton a week tomorrow, pointed to a series of half-hearted penalty appeals that could have got the Clarets back into the game following David Nugent's early strike.

But he had no complaints as North End won their own spot kick - the third in as many seasons - to finally quash all hopes of a late fightback.

"It was a penalty and I actually thought the referee was had a decent game," admitted the Burnley boss.

"I think maybe we were hoping in a couple of those skirmishes that we would get a penalty, but hoping would be a fair assessment."

Gifton Noel-Williams and Graham Branch were deployed as twin-strikers in the absence of Akinbiyi, whose pre-match appearance to pick up the PFA Fans' player of the month award for November could yet turn out to be his last at Turf Moor.

And Cotterill admitted that his attack-minded team missed the power and pace of the 14-goal striker.

He said: "We feel as though we go for it every game because that's how our team is built, whether that's with two strikers or with one and two wide men supporting.

"We very rarely draw; we either win or get beat because the team has gone from one that struggled to score last year to one that scores regularly - and also from a team that kept clean sheets to a team that doesn't.

"However, on Saturday their keeper hasn't had too many saves to make and maybe we missed that cutting edge.

"If you take 14 goals out of your team the game was always going to be as difficult as it could be.

""But even though losing Akinbiyi made it more difficult, I don't want that to detract from the other players because I felt they gave their all and you could see that by how many of our supporters stayed to clap them off at the end."