Where is it?
Preston is situated in Lancashire in the north west, around 25 miles north west of Manchester.
How do I get there?
Take the M1 north bound from Rotherham until the junction with the M62. Take the M62 west bound towards Manchester – it then becomes the M60. At junction 15, take the M61 towards Preston until it merges with the M6 northbound. Continue along the M6 north bound until junction 31A signposted Preston East and Longridge. At the end of the slip road, take the third exit at the roundabout and then the second at the next roundabout. At the next roundabout, take the first exit and then turn right at the traffic lights at the top of the hill. At the next major set of lights with The Sumner’s pub on your left, keep to the left on to Sir Tom Finney Way and the ground is 600 yards on your left hand side.
Where do I park?
There is plenty of on-street parking around the ground or, alternatively, park on street around the Barracks, before you reach the Sumner’s pub (see above directions) for a quicker getaway after the game.
What is there to do?
Preston has a number of attractions including the Harris Museum and Art Gallery in the city centre and St. Walburge’s Church, which has the tallest spire of any parish church in the country at 94 metres. On a nice day, a walk around Avenham Park near to the city centre is recommended or, if you have more time, take a trip to the nearby Ribble Valley, an area with stunning scenery and reportedly a favourite spot of the Queen. Sadly, the National Football Museum which used to be based at Deepdale and was worth a visit, has moved to Manchester.
Who should I look out for?
Chris Humphrey can cause problems with his pace down the right hand side of the pitch, while striker Kevin Davies remains a handful with his experience of playing in the Premier League for a number of years. Preston’s main goal threat, however, is the in-form Joe Garner.
Who will I recognise on the pitch?
Despite having a number of former Millers in their ranks in recent years, such as Chris Holroyd and Luke Foster, there are none in Preston’s current squad.
Who will I recognise in the stand?
WWE star Wade Barrett is a big PNE fan.
What happened last time we were there?
It wasn’t a great day for the Millers as then-managerless Preston recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory with Dickson Etuhu, now of Blackburn Rovers, scoring twice.