In the third and final part of the Andy Preece story, the Chorley manager talks about his football career which took him from non-league to the Premier League

The former Premier League striker adored being the centre of attention whenever he stepped out to play.

And would often be cast as the pantomime villain amongst opposition supporters.

Wind-up-merchant-in-chief was a role Preece used to relish during a playing career which spanned a quarter-of-a-century from the mid 1980s to well into the noughties and included more than 500 appearances for clubs such as Stockport County, Crystal Palace, Blackpool and Bury.

"I used to get involved with the crowd,” said Preece who is the current manager of Chorley.

"I wasn’t quiet, I used to love a bit of banter, a bit of a laugh. I think the one thing I used to love was the crowd – the bigger crowd, the better it was for me.

"Whether that was interaction with the opposition supporters or with my own supporters.

"It was all banter, it was fun – they would give it to you, and you’d score a goal and give it back.

"What’s better than scoring a goal for Blackpool against Preston at Deepdale then running in front of the home supporters to celebrate?”

Preece certainly did some celebrating in his time as more than a century of career goals can testify.

However, underneath the confident and sure exterior, the Worcester-born striker admitted he didn’t always believe he was good enough to make it in the full-time game.

A career in non-league football appeared to be beckoning for Preece until he was handed a chance in the full-time game with Wrexham at the age of 23.

Even then, he envisaged that a return to semi-pro football was on the cards after failing to pull up too many trees at the Racecourse Ground in his first full season in the professional game.

Fortunately, Stockport’s manager at the time, the Uruguayan Danny Bergara, saw something in the tall, powerhouse forward and took a chance on him.

It would arguably prove to be the defining moment of his life as Preece went on to form a formidable partnership with 6ft 7in striker Kevin Francis.

He enjoyed the most prolific spell of his career, notching 42 goals in 97 appearances as unfashionable club County flirted constantly with promotion to the Championship in the early 1990s.

That spell with the Hatters ultimately led him to earning a dream move to the Premier League with Crystal Palace in 1994.

"I used to dream of being the centre forward for Aston Villa and I guess I never gave up on my dream of becoming a professional footballer,” said Preece.

"But did I really think that I would make it to the Premier League? The answer to that is probably no.

"It was probably when I was at Stockport that I thought I could play at the highest level or definitely in the Championship.

"And it was probably the players around me who gave me that belief and confidence.

"I remember one of the lads David Frain saying to me, ‘You’ll play in the Premier League one day’.

"I was like, ‘Yeah all right.”

"But it was nice when other people had that confidence in you and sometimes you need somebody to tell you that.”

Preece’s time at Edgeley Park was certainly the most exciting period in his career.

His partnership with Francis took his profile to another level as County reached two play-off finals at Wembley and also played in front of the Twin Towers in two cup competitions.

Unfortunately, for Preece and his Hatters team-mates, they lost the lot.

"Stockport was definitely the most successful time of my career,” said Preece. "We were going to Wembley every year, sometimes twice a year – although we lost every time. I have never won at Wembley

“But I scored lots of goals – 28 in one season. I was the top scorer along with Kevin Francis.

"We would play our home games on Friday nights so we would get a bit of coverage.

"Granada would come down to Edgeley Park regularly – myself and Kev, we became personalities.”

It was Palace who split up the partnership as they enticed Preece to Selhurst Park – with the promise of Premier League football.

Unfortunately, his time with the Eagles did not work out and he left after one season, scoring four goals – albeit those goals arrived in a purple three-game spell.

“I think the most special time in my career was that year in the Premier League,” he said.

"I had a dream week, scoring four goals in three games. We won all of those games. I just remember thinking, ‘What is going on here?’

"I scored against Neville Southall who was one of the best keepers in the work.

"It was pinch yourself time and although it didn’t carry on, just to be in that environment playing against great players and at big grounds was a great experience.

"Ultimately I wasn’t good enough at that level but it’s something which I will never forget.”