Alan Browne sent Preston North End past and present praise after 'amazing achievement'

Preston North End players, past and present, have congratulated Alan Browne on reaching 400 appearances for the club.

The club captain reached the milestone when introduced in the second half of Saturday's draw at Millwall. Browne is now 13th in the all time PNE appearance table, as the second youngest to reach the 400 mark. Having signed in January 2014, Browne reached 200 apps in April 2019 and 300 in October 2021.

He has scored 45 goals in North End colours and of all the players to represent Preston, Browne is third in the list of international caps. His 35 for the Republic of Ireland are behind only Alan Kelly Snr (47, ROI) and Sir Tom Finney (76, England). At club level, Browne is not far behind 12th placed Alex Bruce (404 apps) and 11th placed Bobby Crawford (407 apps).

Leading up to the clash at The Den, manager Ryan Lowe and team mate Jordan Storey had spoken of Browne's pending achievement. And once it was clinched, the praise from past and present PNE players poured in on social media.

Daniel Johnson, who left Preston in the summer but spent eight-and-a-half years with Browne, posted 'My Captain' on Instagram. Ex-North End goalkeeper Declan Rudd, meanwhile, wrote: 'What a milestone to hit. I remember that skinny little kid waling in on his first day! Well done skip, many more to come'.

Liam Millar, Ali McCann, Jack Whatmough, Layton Stewart, Greg Cunningham, Josh Seary, Noah Mawene, Paul Huntington, Ben Woodburn, Brad Potts, Andrew Hughes, Jordan Storey and Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile all sent their praise too. Potts, who scored last Saturday, also spoke to the press of Browne's accomplishment.

"Yeah, it is an amazing achievement," said the number 44. "He has obviously been an outstanding player ever since I came to the club. I am sure, if he stays at the club, he is going to break a few more records. I am really happy for him and all the lads are just proud of him and proud to say he is our captain really."