STAR player Sean Gregan was delighted when he got a call from the Citizen telling him he was our player of the season.

Sean has excelled in both central defence and midfield this season, while taking charge of a disrupted team.

"It's always nice to receive an award but one that reflects the whole season is particularly good," he said.

Sean believes this season never really got going for Preston: "We tend to have had good runs and then bad ones. Our results have been very up and down."

But on a personal level, Sean, who won our player of the month a record three times running, is pleased with his performance.

"Taking over captaincy was a great honour," he said: "and I was delighted with the decision to recruit the manager from within." Speculation on Gregan's future is rife. He was recently linked with a number of premiership clubs including Aston Villa.

Although flattered Sean believes his future is at Deepdale: "It's nice to be linked with top clubs and I do want to play in a higher league but I feel I can do that with Preston."

Sean will be presented with his award by Citizen editor Naomi Bunting before Saturday's season finale against Bristol City.

"It has been a great honour for us to work with PNE this season and we've had a tremendous response from our readers," said Naomi: "Sean has been very popular and is a worth winner."

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