A week by week lookback at Preston North End's history with a slightly different twist...

M is for John McGrath, who first arrived at Deepdale in May 1986 when he was appointed manager.

Before arriving at the club, McGrath built a reputation for himself as a tough centre-half at Newcastle United and Southampton.

He then moved on to Port Vale as manager, where he led them to promotion before being sacked. After a short spell at Chester, his next stop was at Preston, where he instigated a massive turnover in players and brought in a team of free transfers who turned Deepdale around.

A promotion push in 1987 lifted them into the old Third Division, and to the play-offs the following season, but in January 1990 his contract was terminated.

He moved to Halifax for a short while, but newer fans to Deepdale remember John for his unusual commentary on Magic 999 - the station which last week ditched its football coverage.

He tragically died, aged 60, last Christmas Day.

N is for Non-league, a phrase which should send a shiver down the spine of every North End fan!

The club hardly has a great record against non-league opposition in the FA Cup, with some embarrassing results still amusing fans of the Lashers. Among the more disappointing results is the 3-2 defeat against Barnet in 1965, followed by defeat to Bishop Auckland (2-0) in 1974.

Telford United then destroyed PNE at Deepdale 4-1 in the FA Cup in 1984.

More recently, Preston haven't done quite so badly, managing a 3-0 win against Ford United in the most recent Cup campaign. Ford put up stiff opposition, much to the delight of the PNE fans, many of whom will travel down to London to watch the minnows play when North End aren't!

O is for Overseas Tours, something North End haven't done for a few years, opting for pre-season friendlies in Scotland.

There have been some quite exotic tours over the years, the first being in 1912 when the Lilywhites played nine games in Switzerland, Germany and Holland.

PNE have also played abroad in North America, learning exactly why Americans prefer their football to ours - very few of the teams PNE played could put up a suitable opposition.

And in 1958, PNE notched up their biggest win on foreign soil, scoring 11 against Border FC during a tour of South Africa. Happy days!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.