We’ve been busy speaking to former Player of the Year winners since its’ inception in 1968, as we look ahead to the 5,000th game upon resumption and today our recipient of the now named Sir Tom Finney Trophy is 2001 winner Jon Macken.
The recruit from Manchester United talks us through his early days at Old Trafford and how Colin Murdock played his part in the striker’s move across the north west to Deepdale.
He discusses the time it took to settle into playing men’s football and about how tough David Moyes’ pre-seasons were, before reflecting on Play-Off semi-final defeat to Gillingham.
He moves on to his most productive seasons in the promotion year in 1999/2000 and the following campaign when the side reached the Play-Off Final against Bolton Wanderers at the Millennium Stadium.
He talks about his two managers, Moyes and the influence of Gary Peters, plus the characters who he played alongside and about the professionalism of the squad, before talking about his onward journey to Manchester City.
To watch the full interview, just click on the video at the top of the page and come back tomorrow when we will have another of our interviews, as we look to speak to every Official Preston North End Player of the Year winner we can over the coming weeks.
If you want to see all the interviews that have been conducted so far, including Aiden McGeady, Youl Mawene and Richard Cresswell, or can’t wait for the upcoming ones with the likes of John Thomas, Sean St. Ledger, Joe Garner or Greg Cunningham, click here for our Player of the Year section of the official PNE website.