 In June 1966, Irvine had an altercation with Burnley chairman Bob Lord after returning late from a Northern Ireland match.Nevertheless, he retained his place in the starting line-up at the start of the 1966–67 campaign, and scored in the first match of the season against Sheffield United.After a pre-season tour of Austria, throughout which Burnley remained undefeated, the team were confident of a successful season and especially looked forward to European competition in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.