Paul Heckingbottom's verdict as Sheffield United march on with victory at Preston

Goals in either half from Iliman Ndiaye and Oli McBurnie sent United into the international break with 23 points from their 10 league games so far, opening up a five-point cushion over third-placed Reading at this early stage of the season.

Preston, who went into the game having scored only three times so far this campaign, began strongly and United's defenders were forced to put their bodies on the line to avoid goalkeeper Wes Foderingham being tested in the first half.

Foderingham's only real work in the game was a superb second-half save from Alan Browne's shot but by then the Blades were 2-0 ahead.

Player Ratings: Blades matchday marks from Preston victory

"We wanted to be better in the second half than the first," Heckingbottom said.

"The goal woke us up and the best part of the first half for us was the five minutes just after the goal. We know we needed to be better and in the second half, we were.

"We were strong, it was a real strong away performance and goes back to a real good save from Wes, down to his left. Then a header over if you can call it that from Ched Evans from a set play and that was it. We needed to be better and we were so in the end, a strong display.

"We were lethargic in the first half. We weren't as aggressive as we usually are, we were second to things, and that's what we needed to improve."