Preston North End will be looking forward to next season under the permanent management of Frankie McAvoy.

It has been a disappointing campaign for North End, who have flirted with the play-offs in recent years under Alex Neil.

But the Scotsman was relieved of his duties in March, with Frankie McAvoy steering the ship and catching the eye in charge.

North End ended the season with four wins on the bounce, leading to the permanent appointment of the 53-year-old at Deepdale.

Preston will now look to build for next season under their new manager, who will be keen to get his squad in place and strengthen it this summer.

Having lost the likes of Ben Davies and Ben Pearson this season, there are already two big holes to fill for North End this summer.

Here, we take a look at the top 10 best English players to have played for Preston in the last 20 years - do Pearson and Davies feature on the list?

Pearson was a player who divided opinions amongst Preston fans during his time at Deepdale, mainly because of his fiery temperament on the pitch.

Pearson picked up three red cards in the 2018/19 campaign which sums his fiery nature up, but that shouldn't overshadow his technical ability.

At times, he was one of the standout midfielders in the Championship and was destined for big things.

He's hoping to be playing in the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth next season, as they look to go up via the play-offs.

But if it wasn't for his contract running down at Deepdale, he could have left for serious money when the time came.

Hugill, in truth, hasn't really lived up to his potential since leaving Preston North End.

Hugill scored 12 goals in the Championship in 2016/17, and eight goals before January the following season saw him attract high-profile interest.

The Premier League came calling and West Ham won the race for his signature for around £10million.

It proved to be a flop of a signing, as he made only three appearances for the Hammers and failed to find the back of the net.

He's now at Norwich City and has scored four goals in the Championship this season, but he was a big-money departure who was excellent for Preston at times.

Huntington is still, of course, on North End's books having recently signed a new deal.

The centre-half arrived from Yeovil Town in 2012 and has since racked up 305 appearances for the Lilywhites.

It speaks volumes that in a 14/15 season where Joe Garner scored so many goals and other outfield players were so key, his performances in defence helped him win the Player of the Year award.

He did, in fact, score eight goals in all competitions in 14/15, including in the final where Jermaine Beckford also netted a hat-trick.

He has been a fantastic servant to Preston North End.

Welsh turned out to be a superb midfielder for North End after joining the club from Tranmere Rovers in 2012.

The battling midfielder won the Player of the Year award for the club in his first season at Deepdale and played a key part in helping them win promotion from League One.

Welsh made 176 appearances for North End, scoring only three goals, but it was the dirty work he was known for and he did it superbly.

The Liverpudlian added plenty of grit, heart and defensive steel to the midfield, and is now playing for Stafford Rangers in non-league.

Brownhill failed to make the grade and was released by Manchester United in 2012, but North End snapped him up as a youngster.

The midfielder joined North End in 2012/13 and made his debut soon after his arrival, before going on to become a key player under Simon Grayson.

In 2014/15, Brownhill was given plenty of game time and helped North End win promotion.

He moved to Bristol City and is now a regular at Burnley under Sean Dyche, and is likely to have a good future ahead of him.

He may not have made a great amount of appearances for North End, but Johnstone is now seen as one of England's best goalkeepers.

The Preston-born shot-stopper joined his hometown club in January 2015, as Grayson's side were pushing for promotion from League One.

Johnstone made 22 appearances in the second half of the campaign, keeping an impressive 10 clean sheets and conceding only 17 goals.

He kept a clean sheet in a superb 4-0 win for North End in the play-off final against Swindon Town, too.

On the topic of goalkeepers, how can you forget about Jordan Pickford?

England's first-choice shot-stopper joined North End on loan for the 2015/16 campaign from Sunderland, having been at Bradford the previous season.

The goalkeeper was brought in as a replacement for Johnstone, and ended up making 27 appearances for North End, keeping an impressive 14 clean sheets.

Given the success he's gone on to have and the impact he's made in goal for England, particularly in the last World Cup, it's hard to leave him off this list.

Clarke was one of the best defenders North End have had in the last decade.

The 33-year-old arrived at Deepdale from Huddersfield Town in 2013, before going on to make well over 200 appearances for the club.

His performances alongside Bailey Wright and Paul Huntingdon were superb as North End won promotion under Simon Grayson back in 2014/15.

The step up to the Championship didn't matter, either, with Clarke establishing himself as a key player in the heart of their defence.

He left for Salford last year, and is seen as a North End legend.

Garner's goals were so key for Preston as they escaped League One, and without them, they wouldn't be a Championship club today.

Garner scored 18 goals in 35 games in League One in 2013/14, including a wonder goal in the play-off semi-final first leg against Rotherham United.

The following season, he scored an excellent 25 goals in League One as North End went up via the play-offs, forming an excellent partnership with Jermaine Beckford.

He left North End in 2016 to join Rangers, having scored an impressive 57 goals in 151 games for North End.

What a servant he was.

It's hard to overlook Davies here.

The defender, born in Barrow-in-Furness, came through the ranks at North End, but it had to take loan spells at Tranmere, Fleetwood, Newport and Southport before he became a success at Deepdale.

Over the last couple of years, Davies was seen as one of the best defenders in the Championship, with his ball-playing abilities standing out.

In January, with his contract running down, Liverpool won the race to land his signature, as they looked to solve their defensive dilemmas.

He will go on to have an excellent career.