Last year's fixture at Bloomfield Road was notable for the swirling wind that led to a tight, uninteresting game but it also became known for the actions of a small minority of so-called supporters of both clubs so the message from the gaffer is clear.

"The main message is to enjoy the game and hopefully there won't be any problems, it's a game of football at the end of the day, and although it's important it's not so important that it should cause a whole load of trouble between people," he told the pre-match press conference.

With that out of the way it was on to more important matters, like a first victory for the scotsman against North End's main rivals from Bloomfield Road, "I haven't won yet against Blackpool and I'm hoping to change that on Sunday," he said.

Irvine has been involved in derbies in both England and Scotland as a player, coach and now manager and he maintains that they often follow a similar script.

"Derbies are the same no matter where you go, I've travelled around the country and been involved in derbies in many parts of the UK and they're all the same, everyone's desperate to get one over the other.

"It'll be a typical derby match played with a lot of passion, high tempo and a lot of commitment from both sets of players and if it's anything like the two games last year then it'll be tight," he said of the impending derby on Sunday.

Fans of both clubs are probably already getting excited by the prospect of the first M55 derby of the season but Irvine has a slightly different frame of mind.

"I enjoy the full week when you're at the training ground but when you step out at the training ground you're into the unknown and you don't know whether you're going to be on a high or a low after the game; I've never really looked forward to derby games ever since I started coaching.

"You've always got to focus on the game that's coming up and when you're on the training ground you can get down to all the work that you want to get done.

"I really enjoy being on the training ground and working with the lads and then there's the anxiety when they run out and you hope that everything you've worked on bears fruit," he said.

The weather was notably bad in both games last season with the rain pouring during the home encounter and the wind swirling around Bloomfield during the draw in March.

"At the end of the day the game's played on the pitch and that's not going to change, the wind might be blowing a bit and that will obviously be a factor but as I said that will affect both teams," he said.

In recent weeks the PNE manager has seen the number of fit bodies at Springfields increase dramatically and that has given the gaffer more options than at any point since the end of August when the spate of injuries started for PNE. It's a situation that obviously pleases Irvine.

"It's a very strong squad that I've got to choose from so i'm delighted. It's a very welcome change to have a lot of important players back. I said all the way through the difficult run we've had that I haven't been able to fault them on their workrate and effort but unfortunately we made mistakes. But the character the players showed at Norwich was something that they've got and something that I expected of them," he said.

"You want to have selection problems and when you don't have alternatives on the substitutes bench that causes you a much bigger problem. I'd welcome having a full squad to pick from for every game for the rest of this season."

Blackpool pose a difficult test and even though they have lost three times at home this season North End don't have the best of records at the other end of the M55, something Irvine acknowledged.

"It' s not an easy place to go, like a lot of away grounds, it's a different environment for the away team. Blackpool at the moment is a different, unusual environment in that it's an open place and because there are two open sides effectively but we're familiar with that and our lads know what to expect before we get there," he said.

"Overall Blackpool can be absolutely delighted with what they did last season and although this year they didn't start as well as they would have liked they've done well recently and shown alot of character because they've come back on several occasions from being down to get results."

Fancy a flutter? pnebetting.com is the place to go for all the odds on Sunday's game.

You can listen to the game live on Whites World from 1 pm and watch every minute of the famous 1992 win for just 99p on Whites World.

Alternatively, get down to Deepdale and watch every second live, under-cover on the big screen. It's £10 for an adult and £5 for a concession.



Come on the Whites!!!!