Preston North End

The young midfielder put pen to paper on a new contract on Monday, extending his stay at Deepdale until the summer of 2019. 

Since his arrival at Deepdale, the 20-year-old has developed his game rapidly and he feels that is mainly down the management staff and the players around him. 

"You learn so much from working with the coaches every day. The experience from the boys around you with the likes of Paul Gallagher and the back four or five, whoever plays there it's constant communication. 

"I think that's probably the main thing for me, coaches can only do so much, when you're in that pressure situation that's where it counts and I think I've developed more and more because of the lads around me more than anything."

The Irishman has played a big part in North End's first season back in the Championship, and has nailed down his position in Simon Grayson's side as a box-to-box midfielder. 

"It's good to know where you are going to play in the team, it's difficult to keep your place in this team especially with new signings coming in and the boys always working hard.

"You have to keep doing it on the pitch and it's been a tough task but one that I've enjoyed.

"It's been good knowing that if I am in the team that I will be playing in the same position, as the season has gone on, I've settled in a bit more and feel like I can continue to do that."

To hear more from Alan after signing his new contract, head to PNE PlayerHD by clicking on the video below.