When Norbert Peter Stiles first arrived at Deepdale in the summer of 1973, he created a little slice of history as the first World Cup winner to don a Lilywhite shirt, but little did the Club's supporters realise that his arrival was to spark a decade of yo-yoing between the two middle divisions of the Football League.

Making up a quartet of former Manchester United team mates alongside Francis Burns, David Sadler and new manager Bobby Charlton - who later came out of retirement to become the Club's second World Cup-winning player - hopes were high of a new era of success, but within twelve months Preston had been relegated to the third division. Nonetheless, that didn't stop one of English football's greatest heroes from enjoying a hugely contented era in his glittering career, which took in the end of his playing days and the successes of his fledgling managerial calling.

"I was up at Middlesbrough before coming to Preston," recalled the man famed as much for his dancing prowess as his tough tackling midfield performances.

"Preston always had great supporters and that reputation for playing good football, stretching back to the days of Tom Finney. The main thing for me was that it was a chance to move back to the north west and play for Bobby, but sadly it didn't work out for him.

"I think we wanted to do it like Matt Busby had at Manchester United as there were quite a few of us who'd come from Old Trafford and seen his success, but I think we learnt from that experience that you've just got to do it your own way.

"Once Bobby left I moved into coaching under Harry Catterick and gained great experience from him. Harry had a reputation for being tough but I got on great with him and found him to be a top fellow. I was looking after the youngsters and reserves at first, and then the chance came along to become manager.

"When we got promoted in my first season [1977/78] we had a great set of characters, with the likes of Steve Doyle and Franny Burns being huge influences that year. It was a great experience to be part of, and we were more like a family at that time.

"The Club was a very welcoming place and we brought in things like Christmas parties that really helped to bring everyone together. My youngest son Robert particularly enjoyed coming over to Preston from our home in Manchester - he absolutely loved our old Geordie trainer Harry Hubbick who was a real character.

"The one thing I'll always remember is the night we got promoted, when we were relying on Wrexham to get a result at home to Peterborough. I think the whole of Preston was in Wales that night urging the home side to get a result, and I remember their manager telling me before the game that they'd do their very best to get a result for us, which was nice. They did, and we got promoted on goal difference.

"They were very happy days, but the one problem was trying to keep hold of your best players. I remember we lost numerous quality players during my time there, including Alex Bruce when he first went up to Newcastle, Micky Elwiss who went to Palace and Michael Robinson who came through the ranks and did a fantastic job for us but then Liverpool came along. When someone's doing well and a big club comes in for them, you can't stand in their way."

Losing key players proved critical as North End were relegated back to the third tier in 1981, but for Nobby that was just another twist in a compelling Deepdale tale.

"We got promoted on goal difference and we got relegated on goal difference - that just shows how ironic football is. When things came to an end at Preston I moved onto Vancouver with my brother-in-law Johnny Giles, and Peter Lorimer was there at the time too. One of the lads we had in our team was Peter Beardsley, and just look what he went on to achieve.

"Johnny and I came back over to West Brom together and I did six years there, including being manager for a little spell. It was nice to be back home and really enjoyed being in England again, and when I left West Brom I got a phone call out of the blue from Alex Ferguson. He asked if I wanted to come back to United to work with the youngsters, and before I knew it I was working with the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and the rest that came through in that era.

"I retired in 1993 but I really enjoy looking back on the time I spent in football. It's nice to see those United lads doing so well for themselves and you can take great pride from having a hand in their achievements. However, it was Brian Kidd who really deserves the plaudits for the numbers that came through in that period, and it further proves the bizarre ironies that you get in football that both Kiddo and David Beckham had such varying times at Preston.

"I don't go to games any more because I've been so involved in the sport all my life. I just make do with watching games on TV and that's fine for me. However, I always keep a keen eye out for Preston's results because you never lose that link with clubs you've been associated with.

"It was a great experience to work for the Club, and having gone from winning the World Cup and playing for United it was just as satisfying to see the other side of things, even failure. There were plenty of highs and lows but I enjoyed every minute, and wish everyone at the Club the very best."

Log on to PNE.Com in the coming weeks for more former player interviews including the likes of Howard Kendal, Alex Bruce, Andy Saville and Paul Raynor, all legends at Deepdale from different eras.