The first shoots of the Graham Burke and Sean Maguire partnership at Preston were healthy. In a friendly against Bamber Bridge at the weekend - one which Preston won 7-0 - the two Irish players combined for four goals.
Burke opened the scoring and Maguire added a hat-trick.
Preston manager Alex Neil liked what he saw from the duo. Burke started behind Maguire in his preferred number ten role.
"You could see the combination play between Graham and Sean," Neil told the Lancashire Evening Post.
"They know each other and seemed to have a connection where they could pick each other out.
"I was really pleased with those two."
Maguire scored ten goals for Preston last season in 24 appearances. That was despite a serious hamstring injury which kept him out of action between November and March. Injury free, Neil expects more from the 24-year-old.
Sean looked very sharp which is great. He took his goals well and could have had a couple more.
Towards the end of last season I said that I didn’t think Sean was 100% following the injury he had. On Saturday I thought you could see that his sharpness was back.
I’m expecting big things from Sean this year.
Though he joined Preston in the middle of the League of Ireland season, Burke is going through the same pre-season training as his new teammates.
"First of all, we don’t really know what shape Graham is in compared to the league we play in," said Neil.
"We need to make sure he is topped up and in the same shape as the other lads."
Picture: Sportsfile
