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Stoke boss Nathan Jones suggested speculation around Jack Butland is affecting his goalkeeper after he made two costly mistakes in their 3-1 Sky Bet Championship defeat at Preston.

Daniel Johnson, Billy Bodin and Josh Harrop’s goals sealed North End’s second win of the season but they were aided at key moments by underwhelming Stoke defending.

Butland, the subject of much speculation over his Stoke future, was at fault for the goals the Potters conceded.

“We are on the bus and it’s on Sky Sports about him being left out of the England side,” said Jones of his goalkeeper.

“Everyone talks about him having to leave for his England place, but he’s got to do his job for Stoke first,” added Jones on Sky Sports.

“I don’t know where mentally he must be because there’s so much talk about him.

“You don’t go from being a top goalkeeper to making the errors he is, there must be something playing on his mind.

“But look, he’s a top keeper who trains really well, but it doesn’t help us.

“I have to pick a side to win a game because if I don’t, trust me there will be a lot more than Jack Butland to worry about.

“Since I’ve come here there’s been a hangover of players wanting to leave, players thinking they are proper players, players wanting to go and play in Europe, players thinking of their international careers.

“There hasn’t been a group here together who wants to play and focus and win games for Stoke City, that’s a problem.

“I thought we made big strides in that, but evidently we haven’t.”

Jones was also critical of his side’s defending in his post-match press conference, admitting: “You can’t defend like we did and expect to get anything from a game like this.

“We were definitely still alive at half-time, and I pointed that out to the players. They just didn’t take enough on board.

“A major problem for me is that teams are not having to do a hell of a lot to score against us. That’s costing us dearly.

“We’re not doing a hell of a lot wrong right now. I think Preston have had four efforts on target and scored with three of them.

“We competed well enough in the early stages, then we’ve gone and shot ourselves in the foot again.

“We haven’t defended well enough, and when that happens in the Championship you get punished.”

James McClean’s late finish proved a consolation against a clinical Preston side.

Early on, Bodin’s right-wing cross was only meekly headed clear into the path of Johnson, who opened the scoring as Butland allowed his shot to creep in.

Bodin’s weak then shot squirmed under Butland’s grasp and the game was wrapped up in the second half when the goalkeeper parried a shot into the path of Harrop who tucked home.

“This was always going to be a tough game so I’m really pleased,” said Preston manager Alex Neil, who confirmed striker Louis Moult has suffered a cruciate ligament injury and could miss the rest of the season.

“The lads have carried out all their instructions great, so I’m really pleased everything worked out well on the night.

“It’s hard to be critical after a performance like that, but to be honest I thought we were poorer than we were at Swansea on Saturday.

“We struggled at home at times last season, so that home form needed improving. It’s been a good start this time around, so we have to build on these opening two wins here.

Wales captain Ashley Williams has been left out for the squad for the crunch Euro 2020 qualifier against Azerbaijan next month.

Williams, who turns 35 on Friday, is the third most capped Wales player of all time with only Chris Gunter (95) and Neville Southall (92) having made more than his 86 appearances.

But the veteran centre-half, who made his name at Swansea and spent last season on loan at Stoke, has been without a club since being released by Everton in June.

The PA news agency understands Williams has turned down offers from Greece, Turkey, the Middle East and the United States because he wants to continue playing in British football.

Bristol City could complete a move for Williams this week, but Wales manager Ryan Giggs has opted to name a 26-man squad without the player who captained his country against Hungary two months ago.

Aaron Ramsey and Ethan Ampadu both return after the injuries which ruled them out of the Euro 2020 qualifying defeats to Croatia and Hungary in June.

Former Arsenal midfielder Ramsey made his debut for new club Juventus in a friendly last weekend, while Ampadu has moved to Germany this summer after joining RB Leipzig from Chelsea on a season-long loan.

Bournemouth forward David Brooks is sidelined and will also miss the October qualifiers against Croatia and Slovakia after undergoing ankle surgery earlier this month.

But Giggs is boosted by the availability of talisman Gareth Bale, who is suddenly back in favour at Real Madrid after a public fall-out with manager Zinedine Zidane and an aborted move to the Chinese Super League.

Bale started Real’s first league game of the season last weekend and claimed an assist in the 3-1 win at Celta Vigo.

The 30-year-old’s influence is sure to be key if Wales are to keep their Euro 2020 qualification hopes alive.

Wales are six points behind leaders Group E leaders Hungary, albeit with a game in hand, and three adrift of Croatia and Slovakia ahead of Azerbaijan’s visit on September 6.

Three uncapped players – Swansea defender Joe Rodon, Bristol City midfielder Joe Morrell and Wigan striker Kieffer Moore – are included in a squad that also takes on Belarus in a Cardiff friendly on September 9.

There is no place for Newcastle defender Paul Dummett or Schalke’s former Manchester City winger Rabbi Matondo.

Wales squad: Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Danny Ward (Leicester), Adam Davies (Stoke), Connor Roberts (Swansea), Chris Gunter (Reading), Chris Mepham (Bournemouth), James Lawrence (Anderlecht), Tom Lockyer (Charlton), Joe Rodon (Swansea), Neil Taylor (Aston Villa), Ben Davies (Tottenham), Ethan Ampadu (RB Leipzig, on loan from Chelsea), Joe Allen (Stoke), Matthew Smith (QPR, on loan from Manchester City), Will Vaulks (Cardiff), Jonny Williams (Charlton), Aaron Ramsey (Juventus), Joe Morrell (Lincoln, on loan from Bristol City), Harry Wilson (Bournemouth, on loan from Liverpool), Daniel James (Manchester United), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Sam Vokes (Stoke), Tom Lawrence (Derby), Ben Woodburn (Oxford, on loan from Liverpool), Kieffer Moore (Wigan), Ryan Hedges (Aberdeen).