What Preston North End midfielder Paul Gallagher sees as an important part of his role at Deepdale

Paul Gallagher is happy to use his voice as well as his feet to get Preston heading up the Championship table.
Paul Gallagher has been helping players such as Lukas Nmecha adapt to the ChampionshipPaul Gallagher has been helping players such as Lukas Nmecha adapt to the Championship
Paul Gallagher has been helping players such as Lukas Nmecha adapt to the Championship

The midfielder, at the age of 34, is the old head in the Deepdale dressing room and tries to pass on his experience to help a predominantly young North End squad.

He hopes his advice can play a part in PNE continuing their recent recovery – they go to Hull City on Saturday on the back of taking four points from matches against Aston Villa and Wigan.

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Gallagher told the Post: “A big part of my game is talking to team-mates.

North End midfielder Paul GallagherNorth End midfielder Paul Gallagher
North End midfielder Paul Gallagher

“If someone is younger or older and something needs saying, I will say it.

“I don’t do it to be nasty, it is to help them.

“It’s all about getting them to believe in themselves.

“I’m not afraid to have my opinion and I’ll try and help by having a word.

“People know that I’ve played at a decent level and they do listen.

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“But I still listen to advice, if someone says something I want to listen.

“All players are different, some like an arm around their shoulder, others respond to a kick up the backside.

“The way I speak to people, I’m not ranting or raving, often it’s just a quiet word.”

Manchester City loan pair Lukas Nmecha and Brandon Barker are two of the players Gallagher has been chatting to in a bid to help them settle in at North End.

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Both have caught his eye as they have begun to make an impact in recent weeks.

Said Gallagher: “Brandon has really good pace and his work-rate has gone up.

“Lukas is a nightmare to play against.

“He has got the legs and pace to get behind defences while he has the skill on the ball to go with it. Before the game at Aston Villa I told him to go and play like the player people were talking about.

“They were saying he was one of the best young players in the country.

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“At Villa, Lukas went out and did that, then he was very good against Wigan.”

Gallagher says the North End squad are looking forward to their return to action after the international break.

It is back to the routine of Saturday/midweek football, with the trip to Hull followed by the visit of Brentford to Deepdale next Wednesday.

Hot on the heels of that is a home game with Rotherham United.

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“You get these breaks and then it’s back to being full-on again,” said Gallagher.

“We had a rough spell in terms of results but the last two games were much better.

“I’ve experienced some rocky spells here before, there was the one a couple of years ago when we lost 5-0 against Brentford. It’s about keeping your confidence.”