Preston North End loan spell proved a pivotal time in Aiden McGeady’s career

Former Preston North End loanee Aiden McGeady has credited the club with helping him rediscover his love of football.

McGeady joined on loan from Everton in August 2016, following a spell at Sheffield Wednesday the season before.

He scored eight times in 35 matches, helping North End finish 11th in their second season back at Championship level under Simon Grayson.

The former Republic of Ireland international told Betbrain: “I absolutely loved my time there.

“After such a difficult spell at Sheffield Wednesday, Preston got me enjoying football again.

“The facilities weren’t anything like Everton’s, but that didn’t matter.

“The fans were brilliant, the dressing room was fantastic and Simon Grayson was excellent with me.

“The day I signed, he told me he wanted to get me back to the level I’d been at a couple of years earlier.

“He gave me the freedom to drift inside, play almost as a number 10 at times and just express myself.

“It was probably one of the most important seasons of my career because I needed to play well and prove I could still perform.”

Having been named as PNE’s player of the year, there was the chance of a return to Deepdale for the 2017/18 season.

He followed Grayson to Sunderland instead, only to see the manager gone by October 2017 as the campaign ended in relegation from the Championship.

“It was a bit of a make-or-break year for me and thankfully I had a really good season,” McGeady said of his Deepdale spell.

“I actually wanted to stay permanently and we’d agreed personal terms, but Preston thought they could get me on another loan or for a minimal fee whereas Everton wanted to sell me outright.

“The clubs couldn’t reach an agreement and then Simon Grayson took the Sunderland job and wanted me to join him there instead, but I loved my time at Preston and look back on it really fondly.”

With the new campaign set to kick off in a matter of weeks, attention now focuses on whether the class of 2026/27 can better 14th position in the Championship last time around.

McGeady still keeps an eye on North End’s fortunes and believes they can make a mark in the next couple of years.

He said: “Most of the players and staff from my time have moved on now because it was nearly 10 years ago, but I still follow their results.

“I think they’ve been building steadily for a number of years and they’ve gone close to the play-offs several times.

“I genuinely think, over the next couple of years, they’ll challenge for the play-offs again and maybe even promotion.”