Former Preston North End captain Alan Browne joined Middlesbrough on loan on transfer deadline dayplaceholder image
Former Preston North End captain Alan Browne joined Middlesbrough on loan on transfer deadline day | Getty Images
Former PNE captain Alan Brown has spoken about his frustration on missing out on Premier League football with Sunderland
Alan Browne has expressed disappointment at missing out on Premier League football with Sunderland this season.
The former Preston North End captain admitted he was annoyed at not being able to represent the Black Cats in the top flight after helping them win promotion from the Championship last term.
But as the Irishman prepares to return to Deepdale this weekend with new club Middlesbrough, whom he joined on loan on transfer deadline day, the 30-year-old said there were no hard feelings towards the Stadium of Light side or manager Regis Le Bris.
Alan Browne’s Sunderland record and what he’s said since Stadium of Light exit
Only 13 of those outings came as starts, though, with the midfielder - who missed a chunk of the campaign with a leg fracture - getting just one minute of playing time during the Black Cats’ play-off campaign that eventually saw them beat Sheffield United in the final.
Since then, the one-time Deepdale stalwart dropped further down the pecking order as Sunderland spent big in the transfer window to give themselves the best possible chance of retaining their Premier League status beyond next May.
Browne has total respect for that strategy. Nevertheless, he feels aggrieved after being denied the chance to play in the top flight for the first time in his career.
When asked if he was annoyed at being moved further onto the fringes at the Stadium of Light in the summer, Browne told BBC Tees: “Yeah, of course. I think a lot of people probably are from last year.
"We're the players who got the club there and you'd like to think you'd be rewarded with a fair chance the following season. I'm disappointed but I completely understand the club's outlook.
"They want to stay in the Premier League, progress and get as high up the table as they can. They've made the choice to spend that money and bring in players who they think are capable of doing that and they didn't think most of the previous players were.
"It could be a fair assessment because you see it so often where teams go up and come down and go back up and become a yo-yo team. They obviously don't want to do that. I think they've probably looked at Nottingham Forest from a few years ago and tried to replicate that.
"Hopefully it works out. I'm not going to talk bad about them. I'm disappointed, which is fair, but hopefully I'll get another chance next season."
Alan Browne on why he chose Middlesbrough ahead of PNE return
Browne, who made 412 appearances for PNE over a 10-and-a-half year period, could make his Middlesbrough debut on Saturday when Rob Edwards’ side travel to Deepdale in the Championship for a 12.30pm kick-off.
It will be the Republic of Ireland international’s second trip back to his former stomping ground since his departure, having played the full 90 minutes when Sunderland drew 0-0 with the Lilywhites last November.
"It was quite sudden," he admitted.
"I had interest elsewhere and I was inclined to go there, but the night before the window closed the gaffer rang me up and said they were interested.
"It ticked a lot of boxes and I think I can help the team as well as they can help me.
"It made sense to come here. They've made a great start, hopefully we can continue that.
"I did say if Middlesbrough came in it would be the ideal scenario to keep my family who are settled in the area around. In that regard it was brilliant, but also as a club, it's a massive club and I want to get a massive club back where they belong."
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