O'Neil has been plagued by injuries over the last few months and pre-season was disrupted for the Scottish international. O'Neil played in the reserves and was close to a return to the first team when last week a hamstring injury ruled the midfielder out for 3 months.
O'Neil who was coming to the end of his contract decided that now was the right time to retire from the game as his chances of first team football at Deepdale were looking slim.