Ryan Lowe was relieved his half-time gamble to make three substitutions paid off after Preston claimed a 2-0 win against Bristol City.
North End laboured in the first half but the introduction of attacking trio Emil Riis, Mads Frokjaer-Jensen and Will Keane changed the game.
Keane proved to be the matchwinner, scoring twice in the second half to secure Preston a first win since Boxing Day.
Lowe admitted he was hesitant to make such drastic changes due to the risk of humiliating starters Duane Holmes, Milutin Osmajic and captain Alan Browne, but his gut proved correct.
“Sometimes when you change formations and personnel your front three need to be in the game. Ours weren’t in the first half,” he said.
“I just felt we needed another threat up front. My gut feeling is the best thing for me – and I’m just really pleased it worked.
“We haven’t won in a couple of games so we didn’t want to go out in the second half and be flat again. The substitutions changed it.”
Preston were a different team in the second half and took the lead when Keane’s strike from the centre of the goal was too good for City goalkeeper Max O’Leary.
Keane doubled the home side’s advantage when Frokjaer-Jensen had a shot saved as the pressure mounted. Keane then fired into the bottom-right corner with a superb left-foot strike for his eighth goal of the season.
“It was a very pleasing victory, the players deserve a lot of credit. We went into the staff room at half-time and I said I had to make bold decisions,” Lowe added.
“We mucked in and made some tough decisions bringing people off at half-time, our captain included.
“But I just felt we needed a bit more power at the top end of the pitch. I felt that whoever scored first would go on and win the game – and I wanted it to be us.
“We changed shape and we wanted to be on the front foot. I said to the boys don’t wait for something to happen, if they score then our backs would be against the wall.”
After three wins in a row in December, Bristol City have now gone without one in four matches and have subsequently dropped to 14th in the table.
They face West Ham in a FA Cup replay on Tuesday and boss Liam Manning has called on his team to be more creative.
“We need to create more chance, which I’ll always say, but we created enough to be ahead at a half-time,” he said.
“When you’re on top like that you have to make it count – and we didn’t. We have to work really hard to score high-level goals, whereas the ones we concede are too easy.
“What you can’t do is give easy goals away and not be ruthless at the other end.
“It was difficult to watch in the second half, but in the first half there was a lot of good.
“But it’s turning that good into outcomes, which we didn’t do.
“We had a couple of terrific opportunities – and from set-pieces – as well as good control for large periods for the first half, but we didn’t make any of them count.
“I didn’t feel too threatened, but they made three chances at half-time which had a big impact.”
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Arsenal handed another injury blow as White ruled out for 'months'
Mikel Arteta confirmed that Arsenal defender Ben White is facing "months" on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury.
White had been dealing with several issues all season and has missed five games in all competitions for the Gunners already this term.
After struggling through until the November international break, the decision was taken for him to undergo surgery in order to finally address the ongoing problems.
It serves as a bitter blow for Arteta, with only Thomas Parety (13) making more interceptions than White (11) for Arsenal in the Premier League this campaign.
Though Arteta confirmed that the surgery was successful, White is set for a lengthy spell out of the team.
"It has been different kinds of struggles. It has never been the same thing, but we had to make a decision. He has not improved over the last few weeks, unfortunately," said Arteta.
"We know that Ben is going to push every boundary, but it got to the point where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery.
"He agreed with that and it is going to keep him out for a few months."
Asked for a specific time frame, Arteta added: "We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don't expect it to be half a year, but I cannot tell you exactly."
It offers a concern for Arteta in the full-back area, with the Spaniard also revealing on Friday that Takehiro Tomiyasu is "going to be out as well for a bit".
There was, however, some positive injury news for the Gunners ahead of welcoming Nottingham Forest to the Emirates on Saturday.
After not featuring for England during the international break, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are expected to be fit to feature against Nuno Espirito Santo's side.
Leandro Trossard will also be available for Arteta despite picking up a hamstring injury during the international break with Belgium.
Defender Riccardo Calafiori is also in contention for Saturday's game after a month out with a knee problem.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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