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Alex Neil on Sean Maguire and Kevin O'Connor: "The best part of their careers are ahead of them"

Alex Neil spoke to Off the Ball ahead of the new Championship season as he looks to take Preston ...



Alex Neil on Sean Maguire and...
Soccer

Alex Neil on Sean Maguire and Kevin O'Connor: "The best part of their careers are ahead of them"

Alex Neil spoke to Off the Ball ahead of the new Championship season as he looks to take Preston North End into the Premier League for the first time.

Given that there are a host of Irish players at the club with Cork City's Sean Maguire and Kevin O'Connor due to arrive soon, Irish interest in the league has increased recently.   

There has been some speculation that the new signings might struggle to be part of the new manager's plans but Neil is giving everyone a clean slate as his tenure begins. 

"I met the lads on Sunday," he said, adding: "In terms of players coming into a club, generally it's not just one person's decision so it's the club that signed them not necessarily Simon (Grayson). Obviously Simon would have played a big part in that but the club wanted these players."

"The fact is they're good young players. They've got a lot of potential and the best part of their careers are ahead of them. So, as a coach coming into that - I don't think you can really ask for anymore. They are young, they're impressionable and you can teach them everything you know and get hopefully the best out of them."

Preston signed Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle from Dundalk last year and Neil has been impressed with the attitude of the winger since he arrived. He's "really, really eager to learn. You know, extremely hard working. He's one of the lads where once you're finished training, he keeps just wanting to stay out and wants to do more and more and more. 

"To be honest, with Daryl in particular, it's about keeping the reins on him and making sure he doesn't tire himself out. That's probably the biggest challenge I've had so far with Daryl."

The Preston boss also discussed the rumours he fell out with Norwich over Wes Hoolahan and the full interview can be heard here: 

Alex Neil on Sean Maguire and Kevin O'Connor: "The best part of their careers are ahead of them"

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