 Irvine regained his place in the Burnley team at the start of the 1967–68 campaign, and scored in the first two league matches of the season.However, he was dropped from the starting eleven after four games.On 7 October 1967, in the 1–1 draw with Nottingham Forest, he became the first ever Burnley player to score after coming on as a substitute, after replacing Martin Dobson.