Our visit to Deepdale is on December 26th, with a 3pm kick off. And as the name Preston North End suggests, the stadium is a mile or so to the north of the town centre.

If you’re going by car you need to leave the M6 at Junction 31 and follow signs Left for Preston. Go up a steep hill and follow the road down to a mini roundabout. At the roundabout with the Hesketh Arms turn right into Blackpool Road. Go straight on over three sets of lights and just before a fourth set, the ground appears set slightly back on the left. Parking is mainly in the streets surrounding the ground.

Parking for cars is available for £5 a car at Moorfields School, just follow the directions above and at the last set of traffic lights continue straight on for about 200 yards, and you will see the school on the left near Moor Park. You can also park at Deepdale itself, but that will cost you a whopping £12.50.

Otherwise you can try your luck with street parking, but don't be tempted to park on the grass verges near the ground, you are likely to find after the game that you have been given a parking ticket. Sadly there won’t be any trains running on the day of the game, so there’s not a lot of point in me including my usual directions by public transport.

There are a couple of pubs near the ground that welcome away fans. First there is St Gregory's Catholic Club, which is around a five minute walk away on Blackpool Road. The Club charges £1 for entry, but the cheap drinks and hot pies will make up for this. You can also park at the Club for £3.

There is also the Frenchwood Social Club on Bence Road and the Fulwood Conservative Club. The latter is around ten minutes walk from Deepdale at the junction of Blackpool Road and Garstang Road across from Moor Park, and has parking available for £3.

Another option might be 'The Sumners', just up the Tom Finney Way on the opposite site of the traffic lights by the ground, going past Sainsburys. It usually has a good friendly atmosphere, with both home and away supporters mixing freely, although away fans are not admitted when there is a local derby, or for ‘high profile games’ (which might possibly include us).

It could be more difficult to get a drink in the town centre, as the police will move groups of fans on quickly and most pubs there will refuse to serve away supporters.

Food-wise the best option is Clare's Pantry on the corner of Sir Tom Finney Way and St Stephen's Road, which serves a good meat and potato pie, among other things. Also on Sir Tom Finney Way you can find the following takeaways, Romero, Barbera's Buttie Bar, Pizza Pie, Domino's Pizza.

The whole ground has been redeveloped in recent years. In 1996 the 8,100-seater Sir Tom Finney Stand was opened, followed by the Bill Shankly Kop two years later, and in October 2001 work was completed on the Alan Kelly Town End, also with a capacity of just over 6,000. The completion of the fourth side of the stadium to replace the derelict Pavillion stand brought the total capacity to 23,408.

Normally the allocation for away fans is approximately half of the Kop (3,000 seats) and it is shared with home supporters, but teams with a large away support get the whole stand. Yep, that’s us! We’ve got an allocation of 5,700 for this game, and we’ve already managed to sell out. Tickets are priced at £24 for adults, with concession s at £16 and £8.

The views of the playing action and facilities within this stand are excellent, as the stand is particularly steep, meaning that fans are kept relatively close to the pitch. On the concourse there are TVs by the refreshment serving areas showing the game live while the bars stay open. There is a wide range of food available including bacon rolls, burgers and even vegetarian 'butter' pies, which apparently is a local delicacy.

All in all, this should be quite a good day out.

Some of this stuff came from www.footballgroundguide.com .

Photo: Action Images

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