The former England C international's Deepdale stay has largely been spent as a backup in the event of injury or suspension, but his willingness to work and ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play are among the valuable assets he can bring to the side when he features.

Hawley agreed a three year deal with Preston in June 2007 to link up with then manager Paul Simpson for a second time after the duo enjoyed plenty of success at Carlisle, and arguably his finest hour for the Club since then came in January 2008, when his brace helped Preston to shock Premier League strugglers Derby County 4-1 at Pride Park in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The Walsall-born player began his career at his hometown club where he made just four appearances, but he did enjoy two successful spells on loan at Raith Rovers, scoring 10 goals in 31 appearances.

Following his release from the Saddlers in 2004, Hawley made the decision to drop out of the league to join Carlisle but his 13 goals in his first season went a long way to helping the Cumbrians back into the Football League.

The following season went even better, as he finished as leading scorer on 26 goals to fire Simpson's side to their second successive promotion as League Two champions. The 2006/07 season saw Hawley bag 12 goals in just 30 league starts, after injury interrupted his campaign before stepping up to the Championship for the start of the 2007/08 season.