Ben Davies was handed the captain's armband for the 2-0 win against Leeds United, and the Academy graduate admitted it was an honour to lead out the side.
The 22-year-old came through the ranks at North End and was delighted to help lead the side to victory to secure a place in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Speaking to iFollow PNE post-match, Davies said: "I am pleased that the gaffer has given me a chance and I felt honoured, I have been here a long time and it's a big step so I'm really proud. My dad was in the crowd tonight and it was just a great night and great to get the result.
"It's brilliant, I'm absolutely delighted, not just the captain side of it but the way the night has gone. It would have been good still but it would have had a sour taste to it if we had got beaten or we didn't perform.
"It's been a fantastic night for me and the team and I think we needed it after the last two defeats."
Ben was one of the older heads in the back four at Elland Road with 20-year-old Jordan Storey and 19-year-old Josh Earl alongside him, and with the added responsibility of the armband, the defender knew his leadership would be important.
"I know it's in me and it just takes a bit of time to come out but tonight I felt confident and I needed to step up really because all of a sudden I was one of the more experienced ones back there.
"I was trying to be vocal and to be fair to the lads they were vocal as well and I think we worked well as a unit."
After back to back defeats in the league, Ben admits the side needed a positive result and performance against the Championship leaders, and was delighted to see their hard work pay off on the night.
"I think we needed a result and a performance tonight after back to back defeats so it was important to come out and not be scared or intimidated by playing here. I think you could see from the way that we started that we weren't and we imposed our game on them and it was just a brilliant performance in the end.
"We knew that we had the energy in the team and the legs to press them from the start and we got our reward early on.
"Obviously we then had a bit of set back with the red card which made it hard work for us but to go 2-0 up right before half time with a fantastic goal it was top drawer.
"We went in confident at half-time that we could see it out if we kept doing what we were doing."
Watch the full interview with Ben on iFollow PNE by clicking on the video above.