March was the month when PNE stole a march on their rivals and began to march up the Championship table - and with it, near safety.

OK, we'll end all the March related puns now before somebody is forced to carry us out of the building kicking and screaming, but surely any PNE fanatic can be forgiven for feeling just a little bit excited about the month that ultimately transformed our season?

Discounting the disappointment of the 1-0 reverse at home to Crystal Palace on the first day of the month (we blame that 'Team of the Week' award again), March brought a return of five wins and a draw that propelled PNE from 21st in the immediate aftermath of the Palace defeat up to 15th by the time Sheffield United had been beaten at Deepdale on March 29th.



March 1st proved to be a bad day all round for Preston North End, with the game against the Eagles preceded by the saddening news that '300 club' member Tony Singleton had passed away overnight, but from there it was a case of 'onwards and upwards'.

The players knew where responsibility lay for turning around the season, and with Craig Beattie coming in on loan to aid our attacking prowess, the game at Leicester on March 4th couldn't have had the words 'crunch match' written all over it more prominantly even if the game had been sponsored by Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes.



The signs were ominous when a hamstring injury forced Beattie from the field after 30 minutes of tormenting the Foxes defence, but Darren Carter's last gasp wondergoal (TM) stole the three points for PNE in stoppage time, and ultimately could be seen as a defining moment in a season that ended in very different fashion for the two clubs.

With a great weight lifted from the players' shoulders, attentions turned to a variety of different matters off the field, with a number of scholars making a short-term switch to Morecambe and the Club creating additional charitable links with the local community. Talking of Morecambe, and that troublesome reserve team game was on the move again...



Joe Anyinsah and Brett Ormerod followed the scholars out of Deepdale temporarily with loan moves to Crewe and Nottingham Forest respectively, while in the same week our most famous son was granted another honour by the City of Preston, with the announcement of a 'Sir Tom Finney Day' for 2009.

With no sign of an immediate recovery for Craig Beattie, Alan Irvine was forced back into the loan market, and came up with the signature of Watford's Hungarian international striker Tamas Priskin with just hours to spare before the eligibility deadline allowing him to play at Charlton was due to expire.



Thanks goodness the deal was done in time, as North End secured a famous 2-1 victory over the Addicks thanks to Chris Brown's brilliant brace. If his talent was starting to earn cult status at Deepdale previously, it's fair to say that on that afternoon a legend was born.

It was a fantastic afternoon to savour for PNE's loyal fans in south east London, though the celebrations were dampened somewhat when news broke that Liam Chilvers had ruptured an Achilles tendon during the warm-up, ruling him out of action for the remainder of the season, and sadly the start of the one to come too.



Fortunately it didn't take long for disappointment to turn to delight once again. Wolves became the latest team to succumb to the Tuesday Night Lights at Deepdale, beaten by Callum Davidson's penalty and a superb strike from Simon Whaley. It's now 32 games and counting for one of the more bizarre records in the Championship.

From there, all attentions turned to the biggest away fixture in the calendar - Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Saturday 15th March. All the talk pre-match centred around the fact that it was the biggest game for the fans all season, the biggest buzz for the players, and the biggest screen seen at Deepdale for many a year. In fact, it turned out to be one of the biggest damp squibs ever witnessed, and that coastline offers more than its fair share of damp squibs. Or maybe that should be 'damp squids' just to avoid criticism from coastal quarters?



Once all the riot vans had dispersed and the commemorative newspaper supplements had been carefully disposed of in the nearest recycle bin, it was back to the bread and butter daily activities, such as changing kick-off times for the final game of the season, returning injured strikers to their parent clubs and, oh yeah, planning for another massive derby.

Graham Alexander and Burnley made their way back to Deepdale on March 22nd, with players and management alike getting fired up for the M65 derby.

The less hyped of the two derbies proved to be by far the better spectacle, with PNE coming out on top once again in the lunchtime kick-off - Tamas Priskin's first goal for PNE and a close range strike from Chris Brown enough to land another 2-1 win at Deepdale.



Throughout March, it seemed that the positives on the pitch were constantly being countered by negatives off it, with sad news that Alan Kelly snr was facing a battle against colon cancer. Fortunately, though, he seemed to be battling through following successful surgery, and there was more optimism to be found in conversations with the injured Liam Chilvers following a promising start to his rehabilitation.

PNE let transfer deadline day pass without any further dealing, while various facts and figures relating to Callum Davidson and the PLC's profits were being banded around before Sheffield United's arrival.

Magic Neil Mellor scored twice to add to Callum Davidson's earlier penalty as yet another visitor to Deepdale went home empty-handed, and it was hard for everyone to contain their glee (particularly if you supported Sheffield Wednesday).

The run of 16 points from half a dozen games had taken PNE to within a point of the magical 54-point barrier that Alan Irvine had aspired to since the start of his reign, and it was hopefully just a case of when - rather than if - Preston's Championship status would be assured.

How long would it take? You'll just have to read our next chapter focussing on April to jog your memory...