Preston North End have had four players called up to the Northern Ireland U19s for the forthcoming fixtures in Iceland.
First year professional Jamie Douglas and second year scholars Daniel Devine, Seanan Clucas and Michael McLellan have been included in manager Steve Beaglehole's squad who will take part in two challenge matches against Iceland on Monday 20th September and Wednesday 22nd September.
These recent call ups continues a steady flow of North End players being included in the U19 squad, with Conor McLaughlin, Neil Dougan, Adam Barton and former youth team player Scott Davidson also earning call ups in the past year.
This growing trend is something that delights Preston's Director of Youth Dean Ramsdale who is delighted by the progress of his players. Ramsdale said:
"I am delighted that the four boys have been called up for the games against Iceland and it is down to how they have come back from pre-season. They have worked really hard, we are really pleased with all four of them and I'm sure that they will do well when they get out there.
"Michael McLellan played for the under 17s a few weeks ago and I think that he got himself three goals in the two games that he played. The feedback is that Michael did particularly well and I am pleased for Michael. He has listened to what everyone has said and he is performing on an international level, something that can only be good for us.
"We have certainly seen a spring in Jamie's [Douglas] step in the past couple of weeks, I am on his case everyday because I know what we have potentially got there. If he applies himself well, he has got a fantastic opportunity to do it in Iceland.
"Danny [Devine] is relatively new to football, it may sound daft but he hasn't played full time for a big period of his development due to playing Gaelic football. He has raw talent, is still learning and we see progress in him every single day.
"He [Danny] wants to win games and Seanan is exactly the same, like all of the Irish boys. You know what you are going to get from them and hopefully, what the international team will get will be plenty of hard work, dedication and when the chips are down those boys will roll their sleeves up, which is all that you can ask."
These call-ups add to a growing list of Preston youngsters being called up for international duty over the past couple of seasons. Ramsdale said:
"It is quite funny because I did a summary for the staff last week and we looked at when we came to the Club; we had Sam Hart who was the only international. Sam was playing under 16 schoolboy football then and you look now at what we have currently still got at the football club and excluding Scott Davidson who has left, all of the boys are still here.
"Conor is Captain for the under 19s and has been picked for the under 21s, Adam Barton has been involved in selections for the under 19s and 21s.
"We have also got Will Hayhurst who got picked for the Republic of Ireland prior to breaking his leg, we have got Sam Ade Osobe the new lad who is an under 16 international, Mark Timlin, who will be joining us as a scholar next year is a Republic of Ireland under 16 international, so we are doing well on the international front without a doubt."
