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Howard's Way: TFH Tour

Posted on: Tue 23 Jan 2007

Howard Kendall

As part of our continued Time For Heroes Tour to get the big flag signed we've been to Merseyside this week and Gary Robinson caught up with another legend, both here and on the blue side of Liverpool, Howard Kendall.

Watching from afar you must be impressed with the current side's success?

Well Paul's done a magnificent job really. He took Carlisle United to success and not many managers have done that. I know Paul, I signed him for Sheffield United from Wolverhampton Wanderers a few years ago. He was a tremendous left-footed gifted player so I am pleased he is doing well in Management.

What about the people of Preston, have a message for them?

Well, it would literally be 'support the team!' Preston are doing ever so well at the moment. I mean what more do fans want? They are in with a hell of a shout for promotion to the Premiership, they narrowly missed out last year, maybe that was a disappointment for the fans which it is, but at the same time Paul's come in perhaps they were a little bit down when Billy left especially to go to a club in the same division, but now there's no excuse now, they are on the road back and hopefully we'll do it.

Looking back to when you first started out on your playing career you moved to Preston from the North East as a young lad, how was it?

We were very friendly with the Preston scout in the North East, my family agreed to come down and have a look at the facilities and have a look at the digs I would be staying in and they really made a fuss. I think my parents came down looking for faults and to be fair to Preston North End in those days there were no faults, everything was spot on and I was only delighted to join. They had just been relegated, my father did say 'you're leaving home, we don't want you to leave home but, you just want to get an opportunity' and I did get an opportunity very early and he said, 'well if you're a success at the lower level then a bigger one will come to you, don't go to a big one now', and it was great advice.

Is that the sort of advice you would offer David Nugent if you could?

Well, I think that it depends entirely on the Club really and I think Preston at the moment are looking very ambitious to get into the Premiership. In my time I don't think there was any opportunity really, we were half way down the table there wasn't any opportunity to get promoted and I felt that with all the interest in me from First Division clubs (as they were then) that it was the right time to go.

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"You build up a close relationship with the fans... I can't speak too highly of the way I was treated at Preston."

Howard Kendall on his days at Deepdale

You got your chance to break into the side during the 1964 season, how did that chance come about?

First of all, it was a small squad of players and I tended to go into the side. The side picked itself, the 11 picked itself, and I got the opportunity when a player was injured and then there was a little bit of a re-shuffle and I got my opportunities, but naturally it was a bit of a shock when the team sheet went up for the FA Cup Final and I looked up on the notice board and my name was in the eleven.

You were the youngest player until recently to have ever played in a Cup Final, what do you remember of that special day?

It was a special day and I have got to thank the other players really who protected me from the media and the manager did as well. It was just as though we were going out for any other game really, I know it wasn't, it was a special game but you know the pre-match build up was, 'we've got nothing to lose let's go and show them how we can play.' They were a First Division side and we were a Second Division side. On the day I can remember being in the dressing room after the game. Everybody was down, heads between the knees and Nobby Lawton, the Skipper just said, 'hey, listen we have done well today, we can be proud of ourselves' and naturally when we got back to Preston we looked at the reception that we got at the Town Hall we came back by train and then the route was just filled with supporters with banners and it was just really, really just tremendous.

You established yourself in the North End side after the Cup Final season; how did your move to Everton come about?

Preston weren't really in a position to play at top level, there was a lot of speculation week in week out in the newspapers and whatever, mainly about a possible move to Liverpool and it was very surprising when the knock on the door came and it was Jimmy Milne the Manager. My father answered the door and Jimmy Milne said, 'we've got a club for your son' and my father said, 'oh Liverpool?' And Jimmy said, 'no, across the park.' Jimmy then explained to my father, 'Harry Catterick and the Chief Scout Harry Cook are waiting at Deepdale, would you come down and have talks with Everton?' And that's how it started and I agreed to go and meet them the next morning, it was transfer deadline day and I had a choice. it was going to Everton or somewhere like Plymouth? with Preston what would you have done? I just wanted to play at top level football.

If you had one highlight whilst you were at Preston North End apart from the Cup Final what would it be?

I think on the run up to the Cup Final as to be a highlight for me. I played a couple of matches I think I played eleven League and Cup in total, filling in for injured players but I think it would be the Nottingham Forest replay. I didn't play the first game at City Ground, but I played in the replay and it was a snow covered ground at Deepdale and I scored the winner in extra time and that was memorable for me.

Whilst you were at Preston, what were the fans like with you?

You build up a close relationship with the fans and you being a young lad away from home I had friends and still keep in contact with so it was a special time for me I can't speak too highly of the way I was treated there.

What are your thoughts on PNE as a club today?

Times have changed; they have done remarkably well in terms of the ground. With the wooden stands we used to clean on a Monday morning, searching for coins that have dropped out of peoples pockets it used to make up the wages. Nobody was singled out; in the summer we would all be out there painting the crush barriers. Every Friday we would un-lock the tunnel, clean the dressing rooms, clean the bath for the next day's match, that was our apprenticeship and I don't think it did us any harm. I had a good apprenticeship.