Simpson arrived at Deepdale from Carlisle

Simpson originally signed a three-year deal when he joined the club in the summer but has been rewarded after helping them challenge for promotion.

"When I came here there were clauses that they could extend my contract by an extra year or two depending on how they felt things were going," he said.

"They didn't need to tell me until the end of the season.

He added: "I am delighted that the directors and chairman feel I must be doing something right for them to give me the two- year extension.

"It is a reward for what we have done and what the players have done but the league table is the one that shows that we are going in the right direction."

Preston are currently third in the Championship and chairman Derek Shaw said: "We wanted to secure Paul for as long as we could

"He was very agreeable to it and we managed to get it all completed early last week.

"It is great news for the supporters, he has done a great job since he came here and hopefully we can push on.

"If we can get as many points as we did in the second half of last season we should be in a very good position at the end of the season."