Paul Gallagher has called time on his 20-year professional career to take up a permanent coaching role at Preston North End.

It comes as North End confirmed the appointment of Frankie McAvoy as the club’s new head coach after winning five of his eight games in charge as interim boss following the departure of Alex Neil in March.

Gallagher, who started his career at Ewood Park, will be part of the backroom staff, as he was in the final months of the 2020/21 campaign, but will hang up his boots in the process.

That will see the 36-year-old call time on a career that saw him make over 600 appearances, 74 of which came after breaking through at Rovers, his debut coming in a 2-0 win over Arsenal in March 2003.

His first goal came later that year in a 4-0 win at Birmingham City, one of eight he would score in Rovers colours.

After several loan spells away from Ewood Park he went on to sign for Leicester City in 2009, before first arriving at Deepdale on loan in 2013, a deal that was made permanent in 2015, with more than 300 appearances for the club under his belt before announcing his retirement to take up a coaching role.

McEvoy takes the job after being handed it on a temporary basis following the departure of Neil who had worked with previously at both Hamilton Academical and Norwich City before making the switch to North End in 2017.