16 years after his only cap, Paul is still going strong
Former Scotland international, Paul Gallagher, is looking to join the 300 Club after signing a new one-year deal with Preston North End.
It will be the Glaswegian’s eighth year at Deepdale and the 36-year-old has 297 competitive appearances for the Championship side under his belt.
Putting pen to paper on the new deal, Gallagher revealed that reaching the 300-game milestone was a big motivation in re-signing.
Only 24 players have achieved it in the Lancashire club’s long history, and he is looking to join fellow Scotland international, Graham Alexander, on the elite list this season.
Gallagher said: “Achieving 300 games was always a big motivation for wanting to stay.
“That, and having played a lot of games last year, doing well, and enjoying it.
“I like being here. I didn’t want to walk away and leave this football club without playing in front of the fans again.
“It could potentially be my last season, we don’t know.
“But I still feel good at the moment. I feel like I can contribute to the games and the team, and that’s a big part of what I want to do.”
Gallagher is also looking to continue to develop his coaching skills with Preston’s youngsters as he looks to the future.
The midfielder made his only appearance for the Scottish national team in 2004 against Wales.
He played in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers, and his former clubs include Leicester City, Sheffield United and Stoke City.
After three loan spells at Deepdale, Gallagher completed a permanent move in June, 2015.
While at Preston, he has won promotion from League One through the play-offs, and was disappointed to see the current side, managed by fellow Scot Alex Neil, miss out on a Championship play-off place at the end of last season.
After topping the table at one stage, the Lilywhites faded badly and eventually finished ninth.
Preston are now in pre-season training, having played their last game of the previous campaign on July 22.
Gallagher said: “I’ve lost count of how many pre-seasons I have done. But they don’t get any easier!”