Mousinho’s pride at appointment

Preston North End’s John Mousinho has spoken of his pride at being given the captain’s armband for the 2012/13 season, and says he is keen for the team to “lay down a marker” in their first competitive outing of the new campaign when they face Huddersfield in the Capital One Cup on Monday (Match Betting – Preston 17/10, draw 12/5, Huddersfield 6/4 with bet365).

Mousinho is a new arrival at Deepdale, having spent the previous two seasons with Stevenage. But manager Graham Westley, who coached Mousinho at Stevenage, appears happy to put his faith in the new signing.

“It’s a real privilege to be able to do the job. It’s a massively exciting time for me signing for Preston, and to get this is great,” said Mousinho, who began his professional career with Brentford.

“I’m really looking forward to it and relishing the prospect of doing my best for the team as captain. Monday against Huddersfield is a good chance for me and the team to lay down a marker.”

Preston endured a tough first season in League One following their relegation from the Championship and finished well adrift of the play-off places.

But there is renewed hope at Deepdale ahead of the 2012/13 season and a belief that the team is capable of mounting a challenge for promotion.

They open their league campaign with a home clash against Colchester in one week (Match Betting – Preston 10/11, draw 5/2, Colchester 5/2 with bet365) and Mousinho and his team-mates should be confident of building an early platform for the season ahead.