Preston North End captain Alan Browne praises 'brave' manager after formation switch in Middlesbrough win

Lowe made two changes to the side that lost 4-2 to Blackpool last week, one of those being the captain. Browne was restored to the starting XI having had to make do with a cameo off the bench at Bloomfield Road and was also played in the middle of midfield for the first time since a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United on September 17.

Chuba Akpom put Middlesbrough ahead in the game, with Emil Riis scoring before half time to level things and Jordan Storey headed home the winner in stoppage time.

It was reward for a risk that Lowe took in deviating from his usual three at the back system – the first time he has done so since being appointed manager in December last year.

Browne was full of praise for his manager and was savouring the late winner in front of the Alan Kelly Town End.

He said: “It was well needed, the gaffer was brave enough to change to a 4-3-3. We worked on it in midweek but it's a quick turnaround and to take that kind of information in was a credit to the boys because it's not easy to switch in such a short time and get used to it.

"You can see there are still things we need to work on but it's a different avenue for us to explore now. We can always revert back to a 5-3-2 and mix it up. Getting the result was the most important thing.

“It's always nice to score in the last minute, especially at home and to celebrate in front of the fans. Credit to the boys, we kept going right until the end.

"There were moments where we wondered whether to sit in and maybe hold onto the draw because they could have easily nicked it on the counter but we kept getting forward.

"We worked the set piece quite well, a good delivery into the box and we managed to free up Liam Lindsay who knocked it back across. It's an unbelievable leap from Jordan to get that high above the defender and get his goal to win it.”

Having been in and out of the team lately, Browne has had to mainly watch on from the sidelines as his teammates battled for points.

After playing his 350th game for North End, and becoming only the 16th player to do so, the Irishman reflected on recent week.

He felt he only had one person to blame for not being more involved, and for missing out on last week’s derby.

He said: “It's always difficult but you have to keep working hard and support the boys that are playing. It was really disappointing to not play in the derby but these things happen.

"I wasn't playing well enough to start and that's only down to my own fault. I was working hard to get back into the team and hopefully today's performance will keep me in for the next one.”