Sean Maguire: Move a ‘no-brainer’

The striker has been in scintillating form this season, netting 19 goals in 20 games to help Cork City surge 18 points clear at the top of the Airtricity League Premier Division.

That form caught the eye of Preston boss Simon Grayson, who swooped for the striker six months after bringing over Dundalk pair Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle.

Maguire will link up with his new team-mates at the end of next month and is really relishing the prospect of a new adventure, one which he is hoping will lead to international recognition.

“I’m absolutely over the moon, the club has shown an interest in me for a while now and so it’s great to get it done.” Maguire said.

“Seeing Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan go over and make such a big impact, getting straight into the national team, is something I will be aiming for.

“It’s a no-brainer really for me, obviously having the Irish fellas over there in Preston already it’s a big help for me and will help me settle in and I really can’t wait to get going.

“It’s crazy how many Irish players there are at the club so it will be a big help having some familiar faces around when I go into a dressing room where I don’t really know my surroundings and with a group of players I’m not familiar with.”

Maintaining his current scoring rate in the Championship will be quite a task but the 23-year-old is confident his work-rate will ensure he continues to find the net on a regular basis.

He said: “I bring goals, that’s shown by my record over the last couple of seasons.

“I’m more of a poacher, I score a lot of goals inside of the box, I’ve only scored a few outside the box. I’m a hard worker, I’m a grafter, for a small fella I can actually jump pretty high and I win a lot of headers, so that adds to the problem for defenders and I will always work hard for my teammates.

“I’m always sniffing out mistakes in the opposition half looking to score goals and you will always get 100% from me, you will never get anything below that.

“I feel I have plenty of goals in my game and what better place to bring that than to Preston North End in the Championship.

“I have scored a lot of goals in the Irish league, it’s a great standard but I think it’s time for me to now step up to another level.

“And I think I can step up and bring a lot to this team and help it move forward.”

Maguire insisted he won’t allow his impending move distract from giving his all in his final weeks at Cork City.

“There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of months with a lot of interest from England but I haven’t let it effect my game and I won’t let it effect my game over the next couple of months,” he pledged.

“I won’t be joining Preston until the end of July and I will be giving 100% to Cork City and hopefully I can leave the club in a really strong position in the league.

“There are a couple of games in the Europa League as well so I will be aiming to do well for Cork in that time and then arrive at the club in good shape and good goalscoring form.”