Preston boss Alan Irvine has extended winger Lewis Neal's contract by a further 12 months at Deepdale.Neal, 26, was out of contract in the summer and could have left on a Bosman free transfer.

But Irvine is delighted to have secured the former Stoke player's services for another year.

"Lewis is a good player who has made a good contribution to the team this season - I would expect him to make a contribution again next season," said Irvine.

"We had the option to keep him, and I felt it was a very straightforward decision to take up that option.

"If we had not taken that option up then Lewis would have had plenty of other options within the Championship and the leagues below."

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