"Not again?!" Ben Pearson makes the familiar walk off the pitch after being sent off for the third time last season

Preston North End midfielder Ben Pearson says he is looking to cut down on the number of bookings he receives - so that his mother will start coming back to his games.

The 24-year-old was booked 14 times and sent off on three occasions in 2018-19, seeing him miss 13 games through suspension and leading his despairing mum to stop watching him play.

"My mum is my worst critic when it comes to my discipline. She hates it and won't come to games anymore because of it," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"The past two or three years, it's been difficult for her seeing me get sent off and yellow carded. She's always texting and ringing, telling me just to try keeping quiet this game.

"I say 'yeah, will do mum', and it doesn't always happen but I'm sure she'll be back.

"I missed far too many games last season. I know that. I need to stop it."

The former Manchester United trainee has been shown 45 yellow cards since joining the Deepdale side in January 2016 - 11 more than any other Championship player in that time.

He admitted he is now getting fed up of people bringing up his poor discipline.

"When you're on the pitch and you're full of adrenaline and you'll do anything to win the game then you react differently to things than you would in everyday life. My ambition is to not talk back to the referee this year," he said.

"People on the streets around Preston bring it up and it's annoying sometimes. You want people to talk about your football, not your discipline, but I've got to take it on the chin, it's my fault."

Alex Neil's side start the new season with a trip to Millwall on Saturday, 3 August. The Lilywhites recorded a 3-1 win at The Den in February in a game that saw Pearson pick up his 10th yellow of the campaign.