Preston North End in Numbers: Win welcome after international break

Tom Barkhuizen celebrates his goal in the win against Brentford

It was only the second PNE victory following a break in the last three seasons.

The 4-1 derby win against Blackburn at Deepdale last November had been as good as it had got.

In 2017/18 and 2018/19, the other seven had resulted in draws or defeats.

So to get off on a winning note in 2019/20 – there are three more international breaks to come – was very pleasing to say the least.

It was a fact not lost on PNE striker Sean Maguire who raised the subject when on media duty this week.

Maguire gave Preston a fourth-minute lead against Brentford, Tom Barkhuizen netting the second goal.

“After international breaks, certainly since I have been here, the record hasn’t been great,” said Maguire.

“So it was important we beat Brentford and it was a big win for us. We didn’t do a lot different, to be fair, during the break.

“I missed quite a lot of the training as I had to rest the eye injury I’d suffered.

“We only had Alan Browne on international duty and he was back to train on the Thursday before the Brentford game.

“Maybe the record was playing in our heads a bit so it was nice to get the win and move on.”

The next international break comes after the clash with Barnsley at Deepdale on October 5 – they resume a fortnight later at Reading.

In November, there is a fortnight’s break between the Huddersfield home game (November 9) and Derby away (November 23). The third break is next March.