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Some speculation over the last couple of days suggested that Brown had been offered the Burnley job. That was simply not the case, but the now Preston boss admitted: "Yes, I applied for the Burnley job, and yes, I applied for the Preston job.
"Preston North End came all guns blazing in an interview process which I could not really say no to. That was the extent of Preston's interest in me. It wasn't as warm from the Burnley section. The bottom line is I am the manager of Preston North End and Eddie Howe is the manager of Burnley.
"I've no regrets. I ploughed all my efforts and energies into the job here at Preston North End. I had the full backing of Maurice Lindsay and Trevor Hemmings, that's all I needed, that's all any manager needs.
"It doesn't matter what club it s, when you first take the job you don't really know about the football club but then five or six weeks down the line, the club is sort of ingrained in your blood. You're passionate about your work, you're passionate about your club and you're passionate about the people you're working with. And with that in mind, if we all stick together and work together, we will be a Championship club next year."
On tomorrow's game, Brown admitted: "I'm really looking forward to it and I think the players are as well seeing them on the training ground this week and I think that will be evident tomorrow. We need a big, big performance against our local rivals.
"They are arriving at Deepdale tomorrow and we need to give them a hostile reception, that's fans, friends, players, chairman, boards of directors, it's got to be a hostile reception.
"I love derby games. They are blood and thunder and that's my style of football."
Brown, who we are led to believe, will arrive at Deepdale after a morning session at a Preston tanning centre, is not the only manager looking forward to the game. with Howe admitting he can't wait.
"I've been told there is a great rivalry, a hostile atmosphere and derbies are usually high temp games, so it's something I am really looking forward to," Howe said when discussing the game.
"You only really enjoy it if you get the right result, so that's what we will be looking to do, but it will be a difficult game. Preston are fighting for their lives down at the bottom and they have had two good results recently, albeit draws, against top clubs.
"They are competing and making it difficult for teams and I saw QPR, top of the league, go there and not find it easy. In the end they were probably relieved to come away with the draw, so we know it's going to be difficult.
"But our league form has been good; we can't forget that and if we can play as we did against West Ham for periods of the game, and with that quality, then I'm sure we will create openings for ourselves."
Howe realises that Burnley need to be looking for a win here. "There is an argument that a draw is not good enough for either team," he said. "We are still playing catch up and I am sure Preston will be thinking they need to win the game, so for those reasons it should be an exciting, end to end game."
Since taking over the hot seat at Turf Moor he's already seen us play six away games, including Monday's cup defeat at West Ham, with long distance trips to the likes of Portsmouth, Watford and Cardiff also included.
Now it is just the short trip down the road before we can start playing at home again and Howe said: "It's seems as though we have been travelling here, there and everywhere on a coach recently.
"It's been a tough run for us, physically and emotionally, but we are through it now and the shift is the other way, where we have some good home fixtures to come. So all in all we have to be pleased with our work.
"We know we have 15 games left and we know when they are, so we can plan and try to keep the momentum. In the league we have a tough run of fixtures, but we've managed to get good results and we need to continue to get those back to back wins that will make the difference."