It was many 'Appy returns for one member of the West Brom coaching staff at the WBA game. Michael Appleton spent three and a half years at Deepdale, during what was a halcyon time for the Lilywhites.
'Appy' looked back on that time of Championship successes but was also confident enough to predict future success for both today's teams.
Signed from Manchester United for a then club record fee of £500,000 in the summer of 1997. Appleton was one of three Red Devils to arrive at Deepdale under Gary Peters, following in the footsteps of a certain Mr Beckham who had been at the club a couple of years earlier.
Jon Macken's goals, Appleton's bite in the middle of the park and Colin Murdock's composure at the back would provide the backbone of a team which would ultimately drive its way to English football's second tier. It's a time that Appleton looks back on with fond memories.
"Gary Peters and David Moyes had been following me at the back of the previous season and through the pre-season during the summer of 1997. Colin Murdock and Jon Macken had joined the club during pre-season so I was aware at what the club was all about and the ambition the club had to get promoted and go on to a higher division.
"When they came knocking they knew that there was an opportunity to get me, I spoke to a few clubs but Colin and Jon spoke highly about the club and the squad and the chances they thought they had of getting promotion and the fact that I wouldn't have had to move from Manchester it was a great opportunity for me.
"I'd also had reports from David Beckham who had been at Preston on loan a couple of seasons previous and he said nothing but good things about the club."
North End fought off stiff competition from teams at a higher level to capture Appleton's signature including Sheffield United and Crewe Alexandra, but the tenacious midfielder had no regrets about signing for the Lilywhites.
He said: "I had three-and-a-half good years there, a really good group of players who socialised together off the pitch and got with each other really well on the pitch and I think that showed in our football.
"It was a big fee and I was well aware of it at the time. Although United put that kind of price on me I think a lot of the other clubs wanted to do it in instalments. Preston were the first ones who said that they were prepared to pay up front.
"The Preston board obviously thought that with a little bit of guidance from Gary and David that I would be worth more than that in years to come. They took a bit of a gamble but I think all parties would agree that over time the gamble paid off.
Appleton and his North End team-mates enjoyed some major highlights during their time at League One level but it was Play-Off disappointment which would ultimately spur the club onto Second Division Championship success and everything else that followed it.
"The Arsenal game was a big highlight. The result didn't quite go for us but on the night we gave a full strength Arsenal side a bit of a scare, I don't think they really knew what to expect when they came to Deepdale. It wasn't a case of us getting the ball forward as quick as we can and see what we can do, we tried to have a go at them and played some good stuff on the night.
"We lost 4-2 but when you are playing up against Vieira and Petit, it was a great experience for everyone and gave everyone a bit of a taste of what they might want to achieve in the later years of their career.
"Later that year we were beaten by Gillingham in the Play-Offs and that was really annoying, we drew with them in the first leg but we really thought that we'd had the beating of them. We prepared really well for the second leg but I think they scored after about 60 seconds, it was very early in the game and that killed it a little bit.
"We threw everything but the kitchen sink at them in the second half but to be fair to them they defended really well and held on. That knocked us out at the semi-final stages which was a bit of a gutter for us.
"We responded really well, had a good pre-season and we ended up winning the league the next year and winning it quite comfortably in the end and went up as Champions."
Appleton believed that he had signed for a Championship team when he signed in '97 and that proved to be the case when David Moyes took the division by storm in the 2000/01 campaign. The midfielder secured a big money move to the Baggies before that season was up but he reckons that what the Lilywhites achieved that year built the foundations for some solid years in the Championship.
He said: "We knew that because we were the new boys going into the Championship that in the first half of the season we were going to be a bit of an unknown quantity and we had to make sure that we took full advantage and get as many points on the board up to Christmas.
"After Christmas a lot of clubs have watched you more and obviously played against you at least once and they know how you play and try and stop you a lot more. There's not really any more arrogance as to thinking that they've only just come up this should be an easy three points. We shocked a lot of teams in the early part of that season, it was such a good season because we had such a strong squad, the actual step-up wasn't as big as most people thought it would be."
"When the opportunity to move to West Brom came up it was a little bit out of the blue, but I wanted to speak to West Brom, they made me feel very welcome, they made me feel as though they wanted me to be a part of something. It was a spur of the moment thing but I have been at West Brom now for nearly nine years as a player and a coach. As much as I've got a lot of affinity with Preston North End I have spent a lot of time and most of my career at West Brom.
"I think what Preston did in that first season at Championship level has held them in good stead for the years since then, they've always been in and around the Play-Offs and up to now have been very unlucky and not got themselves promoted into the Premiership. I'd be very surprised if Preston and West Brom are not in and around the automatic or play-off places come the end of the season."
Head to MyPNE.com now to order the WBA programme and read the rest of our interview with 'Appy, as well as an exclusive interview with Cyrille Regis. Remember to pre-order your Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace programmes for just £3 on MyPNE.com or buy it around the ground on the day.
