Preston striker Sean Maguire ready to kick on in the new season

Sean Maguire is looking ahead to a big season at North End

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The Irish striker netted 10 goals in his first year in the Championship despite a long injury lay-off.

Refreshed after his first proper break from football in 18 months, Maguire was back in pre-season training with his PNE colleagues yesterday at Springfields.

Ahead of them is five weeks of hard work to get them ready for the August 4 opener with Queens Park Rangers.

“The Championship and the Preston fans have really only seen glimpses of what I can actually do,” said Maguire.

“Last season I was playing for a couple of months and then I got a bad injury.

“Coming back from that, I felt I wasn’t 100% match fit and my sharpness wasn’t what it was like before I got injured.

“The six-week break I’ve had has done me the world of good and I’m raring to go.

“This is a big season for me, I feel I can kick-on, score more goals and add a lot more to my game.”

It was in June last year that PNE agreed a deal to sign Maguire from Cork City.

Their involvement in the Europa League delayed his arrival until late July.

He hit the ground running at Deepdale, scoring on his first appearance in a friendly against Burnley.

All continued going well until October when Maguire suffered a hamstring injury which required surgery.

He returned to action at the start of March, scoring five goals in four games.

Things started to catch up with him towards the end of the season and Maguire will really have benefitted from the summer break.

It was eaten into slightly by his call into the Republic of Ireland squad but he played only one of their friendlies.

“The summer was my first break in 18 months,” Maguire told PNE’s official podcast.

“It was good to get away for a couple of weeks and to get home to see the family.

“I didn’t get much of the pre-season last year and this will be my first pre-season in England since I first came to West Ham in 2013.”

Maguire has retained his No.24 squad number for the 2018/19 season but some of his team-mates have had a switch.

North End revealed the new list of numbers as the squad returned to work after the summer break.

Darnell Fisher will wear No.2, Josh Earl No.3, Ben Davies No.6 and Callum Robinson No.7. Another to change is Louis Moult who has been given the No.9 shirt.

Of the summer signings, Michael Crowe will wear No.13, Jordan Storey No.14, Andrew Hughes No.16, Ryan Ledson No.17 and Graham Burke No.19.