Preston North End boss Alex Neil salutes 'leader' Tom Clarke

Neil says the club captain gave PNE exceptional service for seven seasons and hopes to see him add to his tally of career games with a new club.

Injuries were a key factor in North End not offering him a contract beyond the end of the current season.

They had offered Clarke an extension of his current deal to see him through to the end of the 2019/20 campaign but the defender felt this was the right time to go.

Neil said: “I think the one word which best describes Tom is ‘leader’.

“He has been the captain for a long time and whether he has played or not, he led by example.

“Tom was one of the elder statesmen here, he knows the club and puts a demand on other players – he was a terrific captain.”

Clarke hadn’t had as much game time over the last year or so, having been a regular choice for so long.

Neil said: To be fair to Tom, when he was available we did manage to get him into the team – he played at right-back and sometimes centre-half.

“Whenever there was a game where we thought ‘Let’s get at them’, Tom would be leading from the front with his chest puffed out.

“That was the type of player he was for us and the bravery he showed probably went against him in the end.

“He played with a lot of niggles and put his head on the line for the club.

“When you get to the age Tom is – 32 – you want to make sure you play regularly, are the first name on the team sheet and get as many minutes on the pitch as possible.”

Paul Gallagher wore the armband at Luton last week and if selected will do so again when PNE host Cardiff City at Deepdale tomorrow dinnertime (12.30pm).

Bar a friendly against Wigan and an inter-squad game, it will be North End’s first experience of playing on home turf without a crowd.

“It’s going to be very strange,” said Neil.

“Luton last week was one of the strangest experiences I have had because of what is at stake yet there is no atmosphere.

“It will be good for us that we are back at Deepdale , back on our home pitch.

“What is hard when you have no crowd is getting the tempo at the top end of the pitch. You’ve seen the tempo drop in the majority of games.

“The games aren’t as quick as the fans not being there has a baring on that.

“We are at our best when we run sides into the ground, when we grind them down.

“At the moment it is the same for every team and we are all looking forward to getting fans back.”