Roberto Di Matteo shrugged off the post-match jeers from Aston Villa’s travelling supporters and insisted he will carry out his pledge of finishing in the top six of the Championship if given the chance.

Defeat to Preston triggered an angry response from those of the 5,500 claret-and-blue clad fans who remained to the bitter end. Patience is clearly running thin following three league victories in 48 matches, albeit three-quarters of those games predate Di Matteo’s reign. The promotion push that £50m of player investment suggested is not materialising and there can have been no sorrier display from Villa this season.

Di Matteo sent out his team after showing them a good luck video message from Tony Xia, the club owner who appointed him and sanctioned the spending. Xia is on overseas business for the next few weeks and missed this debacle. It would not be advisable for him to watch the highlights. Villa were torn to shreds in the first half.

However, Di Matteo does not fear the sack, despite suggestions he needed to pick up at least one victory from games against Barnsley, where they recorded a fifth straight draw in midweek, and here.

“I am the first one to take responsibility for it. I take all the blame, and that is how it is when you’re the manager. I stand up in front of my players,” he said, after goals from Ben Pearson, his first for Preston, and Jordan Hugill settled the first meeting of these clubs for 42 years.

“I have total support from the club. There are no other indications, so we will have to try to be better after international week and pick up more points than we did so far. It is a good team and it will come good.

“I have faith in the team, I believe in it, and come the end of the season they’ll be up there. It is still a long season and there are so many more points to play for. We are 10 points from sixth place and so it is still all possible.”

Villa were anaemic in the opening quarter-hour and could have been three or four goals down. As it was, they trailed by one courtesy of Pearson’s composed finish after possession was coughed up by the visitors. Then, when Pearson picked the pocket of Ashley Westwood in the 39th minute, a Preston counter climaxed with Hugill sweeping home.

“It’s certainly a step back compared to previous games. We had the ball and gave it on a silver platter for them to score,” said Di Matteo.

The Villa manager also bemoaned a disallowed effort when Jonathan Kodjia slipped the ball into the Preston net after the referee, Peter Bankes, had blown for an infringement, and pointed to Ross McCormack’s saved penalty five minutes into injury time as evidence of a second-half riposte.

It would not have helped the mood of those returning back down the M6 to the Midlands that two of Preston’s tormentors were products of Villa’s previously heralded youth system. Daniel Johnson, probing between midfield and the forward line, was exceptional, and Callum Robinson, darting in from the left, always looked likely to increase the home side’s advantage.

Indeed, it would have been an injustice if McCormack had reduced it at the death, after his fellow substitute Rudy Gestede was brought down in the area. Chris Maxwell threw himself to his left to repel only Villa’s second attempt on target. Seconds later, Di Matteo was subject to a cacophony from the stands.

“I lost a game a few weeks ago and people were calling for my head. It’s the crazy nature of football,” said the Preston manager, Simon Grayson. “Those of us in jobs now want to stay in them and if you’re out of one you want to get back into work.”

Idrissa Sylla earns late derby win for QPR as Fulham miss two penalties Read more