Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd jetted off with his players to Dubai last night probably wishing the genie in the lamp could grant him just one wish.
That would be to have a clone of his giant defender Danny Shittu.
The human battering ram was Watford's biggest threat when he stormed forward and was almost as effective in dealing with matters at the other end.
But that shows a deficiency in Watford's bid to bounce back into the Premier League next season as these two dropped points edged them down to third place.
Not that Preston didn't fully deserve at least a point as new boss Alan Irvine gradually completes their recovery.
And Boothroyd held up his hands as he said: "To be fair to Preston, they defended doggedly. We had enough chances to win by a decent score and we were as dominant as we've been for a long time.
"But you know what happens when you don't take your chances.
"The players are disappointed but if we keep doing it, the statistics even themselves out and I'm sure we'll win a lot more than we will draw.
"We'd certainly have looked forward to Dubai more if we'd won. It will be intense - we're not going to holiday camp and the players all know that. But sometimes a break like this can make a big difference.
"We'll catch a bit of sun, there will be a bit of getting to know each other again and come the end of the season, who knows, this might make all the difference."
Shittu's menace comes mostly when central defender Leigh Bromby launches his long throw-ins which are worth a free-kick or even a corner. But Preston stood firm, especially through their outstanding French central defender Youl Mawene. And if anything got past him, keeper Andy Lonergan moved around his area smartly.
Watford's best chance in the first half came early when Lonergan went down too early and left Darius Henderson with almost an empty net, only for the striker to shoot into the side-netting.
Watford were fortunate on 13 minutes when Paul McKenna let fly from 28 yards and the ball smashed back off the angle of bar and post.
After that, Watford lost their way until the 66th minute when from a Jobi McAnuff corner, Shittu sent a header against the right post.
And by the end Boothroyd had brought on his captain and central defender Jay DeMerit, to allow Shittu to rampage up-front.
There were several near misses but Preston could have pinched all three points when Watford keeper Richard Lee did well to save from midfielder Richard Chaplow.
Preston boss Irvine said: "The fact that we've dropped a place into the relegation area is disappointing but we've got a great point against a very effective team.
"And some of the others around us still have to come here. It will be very difficult for them to get a point.
"That's my first draw as a Preston manager but I'll be delighted to take it. We had to be resolute defensively, determined, dogged and brave - both mentally and physically."
The critics of Watford's direct style won't be going away after this typical, raw performance but it will be a brave man to write them off from automatic promotion.
Watford: Lee 6 - Mariappa 6 (DeMerit, 81mins), Bromby 7, Shittu 7, Sadler 6 - Smith 5 (Ainsworth, 85mins), Eustace 6, O"Toole 5, *McANUFF 7 - Ellington 5, Henderson 6.
Preston: Lonergan 7 - Jones 6, *MAWENE 8, Chilvers 7, Davidson 7, Whaley 6 (St Ledger, 83mins), McKenna 7, Chaplow 7 (Hill, 80mins), Sedgwick 7 - Brown 6, Hawley 6 (Mellor, 72mins, 6). Ref: A Bates 6.