Striker Sean Maguire says Preston North End must use derby defeat as ‘fuel’ to do better

Sean Maguire admits he let his frustration boil over in a flashpoint at the end of Preston North End’s derby defeat to Blackpool.
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It was one which resulted in a red card for skipper Alan Browne who got involved in a melee after Maguire had been fouled in stoppage time.

Maguire admitted the loss at Bloomfield Road was the result which ‘hurt the most’ in his time as a PNE player.

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Hence him reacting angrily to being fouled late on which caused a coming together of players from both teams.

Preston North End striker Sean MaguirePreston North End striker Sean Maguire
Preston North End striker Sean Maguire

The Irish striker was shown a yellow card for his part, Browne getting a red for a second booking.

That will rule Browne out of tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup clash with Liverpool at Deepdale.

Maguire said: “Usually I’m quite laid back, in most games I will get kicked like I was on Saturday and just carry on.

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“But the red mist came down and if people hadn’t have held me back, anything could have happened.

“It was a situation where I let the frustration of the day get the better of me, it wasn’t like me.

“Speak to any of the lads and they will tell you that I’m quite laid back, I usually brush things like aside.

“With the scoreline being as it was at the time, having wanted to win so badly, the anger came out.

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“Fortunately for me it was only a yellow card I got and I thought it was harsh on Browney.

“It was a big 12-man scuffle and Browney was the one who got picked out.

“I don’t know if that was necessary, it was the 97th minute and he blew the final whistle just after it.

“After the whistle I went up to the ref to talk about it.

“Browney misses a game now. If he was going to book him, you might as well have booked all 12 players involved.”

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Criticism of the North End players and head coach Frankie McAvoy from the fans has comes in droves since Saturday’s defeat.

It is criticism which Maguire says must be used to inspire better results, with three key Championship games coming after the visit of Liverpool.

Said Maguire: “I can speak on behalf of the team by saying we were all bitterly disappointed with how things went on Saturday.

“We’re gutted that we didn’t do enough to get something from the game. I know how much it meant to the fans

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“We need to use how we felt as fuel for moving forward again. In my time at Preston, that one hurt the most.

“The game had been built up for so long. It was the first time in 11 years we have played them in the league so it was a sore one. I’m hurting, the manager is hurting, all the lads are hurting.”