Preston 2 Bristol City 0: Bristol City’s confidence-stricken players are currently providing incontrovertible evidence that you cannot always have what you want in life.

Their ambitious manager, Gary Johnson, informed anyone who cared to listen that he had set his heart on a top-six position in the Coca-Cola Championship for Christmas.

Given City’s startling record last season, his request did not seem unreasonable.

Yet English football’s second tier represents an altogether more demanding environment this time around and the Robins, required to compete against clubs flush with Premier League-generated cash, are finding the going considerably tougher.

Handily placed in the play-off positions and within striking distance of leaders Watford 12 months ago, City derived sufficient confidence to maintain their upwardly-mobile impetus.

A year, it seems, is a long time in sport. As Johnson’s charges contemplate a hectic December schedule which could  make or break their season, they find themselves occupying 14th place in the Championship. More worryingly, a record of one win in eight games suggests they are unlikely to bridge the five-point gap between themselves and the current play-off incumbents any time soon.

If success breeds confidence, under-achievement just as surely undermines the most precious commodity in competitive sport. Having forfeited a position of strength in October, when they were safely ensconced in the top six, City have since been engaged in an increasingly desperate game of catch-up.

Players who breezed through matches without a care in the world a year ago are now coming under the kind of pressure which is the inevitable by-product of heightened expectation.

Opposition teams have learned their lesson well and developed strategies to combat the upstart newcomers with such a degree of success that City’s players are now prepared to question their own ability.

With home games against Swansea and in-form Burnley and potentially hazardous trips to Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday to negotiate between now and Christmas Day, Johnson is unlikely to receive his gift of choice.

In fact, unless a quick recovery of form and belief can be achieved, the manager could find himself looking anxiously over his shoulder as the relegation zone comes into view.

As generally happens when teams are exposed to a downward spiral, managers bemoan the absence of luck. Certainly, there was an element of misfortune attached to this defeat at fog-bound Deepdale.

Football is littered with tales of ‘what if’ and ‘if only’ and City had good reason to feel hard done by when Michael McIndoe’s sweetly-struck shot came back off an upright in the fifth minute. Had the visitors taken the lead then, proceedings would most likely have taken an altogether different turn.

Lady Luck again deserted City five minutes into the second half. Goalkeeper Adriano Basso appeared to have Ross Wallace’s shot from the edge of the penalty area covered, only for the ball to take a wicked deflection off the shoulder of Louis Carey and loop into the top left-hand corner of the net.

As befits a team unbeaten in five matches and visibly growing in confidence, Preston made the most of their good fortune to win comfortably and haul themselves back into the play-off positions.

In reality, City could hardly complain. After all, they were once again architects of their own downfall. Johnson’s side set an encouragingly high tempo from the start and created enough chances to have got their noses in front. But just as they did against Watford five days earlier, they singularly failed to make the most of their opportunities.

Preston keeper Andy Lonergan twice pulled off full-length saves to keep out long-range efforts from the industrious McIndoe, but there were no such mitigating circumstances when Dele Adebola shot straight at Lonergan from 12 yards out after being presented with a clear sight of goal by Nicky Maynard’s  pass.

If Preston’s second goal was something of a fluke, there was nothing lucky about the move and finish which gave them the lead against the run of play on the half-hour mark.

Richard Chaplow discovered an angle of pass which enabled livewire winger Wallace to surge into space behind right-back Brian Wilson and deliver a cross which rendered Steve Elliott’s finish from close range straightforward once he had forced his way in front of Carey.

It was Elliott’s first touch, the former Wolves striker having stepped off the bench to replace the injured Neil Mellor just moments earlier.

Thereafter, Preston proved the better team. City were not helped by the injury which forced the combative Adebola to be substituted early in the second half and, only when Johnson went for broke and pushed giant centre-back Jamie McCombe into attack in the final 20 minutes did the visitors threaten to inconvenience a defence which coped comfortably with everything that was thrown at them.

Indeed, McCombe came closest to pulling a goal back, sending a header arcing across goal and inches wide of the post.

Forced to take risks, City left themselves exposed at the back and Preston looked the more likely to score as the clock ticked down. Basso made outstanding saves to deny Chris Brown and Elliott, while Chris Sedgwick sent a couple of shots wide and substitute Jon Parkin somehow contrived to fire high and wide with only the keeper to beat.

A pity for City that the cloying fog which blanketed this part of Lancashire throughout the day did not take grip sufficiently to cause the game to be abandoned. But then, such is life when you are down on your luck.