Now we turn to the 90s and beyond, looking at the best, and possibly the worst, managers in the Lilywhite’s history. Do you remember these men? Some lead North End to glory, giving themselves legend status at the same time, whilst others we may not look back on with such a rosy glow. READ MORE: Preston North End managers of the 70s and 80s. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: PNE players of the 90s
5. Craig Brown
Craig Brown was appointed as manager of Preston North End in April 2002, but left by mutual consent in August 2004 after a poor start to the league campaign Photo: David Hurst
6. Billy Davies
Following Craig Brown's departure in 2004, Billy Davies was installed as caretaker manager before being given the job permanently. Davies took Preston to the brink of the Premier League via the play-offs in May 2005 but lost in the final. Despite a difficult start to the 2005–06 season, a 25-game unbeaten run meant Preston went on to qualify for the play-offs for a second successive season although the side again failed to win promotion as they were knocked out by Leeds United after losing the semi-final second leg. Davies's success at Deepdale saw him linked with a number of other jobs, eventually leaving to manage Derby County in 2006 Photo: David Hurst
7. Paul Simpson
In June 2006, following his success at Carlisle, Paul Simpson left the club to replace Billy Davies as manager of Preston North End, where he led them to the top of the Championship by December, their highest league placing for 55 years. However, after only being able to bring three free transfers in January they were unable to maintain this position and missed out on the play-offs by goal difference. After losing key player David Nugent, the team made a bad start to the 2007–08 season (including just three victories) resulting in Simpson being sacked in November 2007 Photo: Neil Cross
8. Alan Irvine
Alan Irvine took over as manager of Preston North End in November 2007 with Preston in a relegation battle. He guided them to a respectable 15th place in the 2007–08 season. In his first full season in charge, Irvine led Preston to the play-offs on a dramatic final day of the season, clinching the final play-off spot thanks to goals from Jon Parkin and Sean St. Ledger. After that he was named the Championship Manager of the Month for April. Irvine was dismissed in December 2009 after Preston suffered a poor run of results where the team only won once in 10 games Photo: David Hurst