North End face Tottenham Hotspur in the third round of the Carling Cup at Deepdale and manager Alan Irvine expressed his delight at the draw after his side's draw with Ipswich.

The Lilywhites' boss will come up against a Harry Redknapp managed Premier League side for the second time, having lost in injury-time to Portsmouth in 2008, on their way to winning the FA Cup.

Spurs have been to the last two Carling Cup finals, winning it in 2008 and losing on penalties to Manchester United earlier this year where Ben Foster famously watched Spurs penalty takers on his iPod before helping his side to victory.

North End also faced Spurs in the same competition over two legs in 1996, drawing 1-1 at Deepdale, with Michael Holt's last minute equaliser, but losing 3-0 at White Hart Lane.

"It's a great draw for us, especially considering how Tottenham are doing right now," Irvine told the press at Portman Road. "They are going extremely well.

"I said I wanted someone at home from outside of our division. I either wanted a team from the division below, which no disrespect to them, would give us a better chance of getting through, or one of the big buys and I hope this game excited the fans as much as it excites me.

"The players and staff didn't talk about it before the game, but I expect everyone will be really pleased with this draw and I am sure it will be a great night for us."

Ticket details for the cup tie will be confirmed on Tuesday when the date of the game is confirmed - please check PNE.com for full details after the Bank Holiday.