Alan Browne admitted victory in the Lancashire derby meant everything to himself and his teammates.
North End’s No.8 wore the skipper’s armband as Preston North End got the better of their biggest rivals at Deepdale, with Cameron Archer’s goal right at the end of the first half proving decisive.
With Tuesday night being the first meeting between the two sides at Deepdale since Browne’s arrival, it’s a game he’s been waiting to be involved in.
“It meant everything,” he told iFollow PNE. “We haven’t had much to celebrate or cheer about all season, and I know it’s only one game, but we don’t want to let the season fizzle out.
“We wanted to get this massive derby win and take some form into the end of the season and carry that into next season because the gaffer keeps reminding us it’s about building momentum towards next season now.
“We don’t want to be constantly sitting in 12th or 11th or getting a few games together and slipping away again, we want to be playing the big games, bigger games than this, so the win tonight should roll us over into Saturday.”
Immediately prior to the game, the Republic of Ireland international grouped together his team-mates in a huddle.
He cited the reverse fixture between the two sides - a defeat at Bloomfield Road - as motivation to go and make sure there was no repeat at Deepdale.
He said: “I just thought after playing them away, maybe some people weren’t aware of how much this game meant, so I just wanted to remind them that it was everything to me, to the fans, and the players that have been here for a long time who know the club inside out.
“This is a game I’ve waited a long time for and to get them here on our home turf and get one over them is absolutely fantastic.
“I said to them go and make yourself a hero because I’m well aware of what this game means to the fans, and Cam’s done just that tonight so I’m absolutely buzzing for him.”
It was a packed house at Deepdale, with just short of 19,000 inside the stadium, and both manager Ryan Lowe and Browne have praised the impact the supporters made.
“They were unbelievable,” he added. “I know we didn’t go straight over to them to celebrate after the goal, but we just wanted to give some to the Blackpool fans and really enjoy that moment, and I’m sure they did as well.
“They turned out in their numbers but we want that every game, and it’s up to us to keep attracting them back to the stadium.
“If we do then hopefully they’ll continue to support us like that because the atmosphere tonight was absolutely unbelievable.”
You can watch Browney's full interview now on iFollow PNE.