 In the Football League Second Division, he began to score goals again and was Preston's top goalscorer in the 1968–69 season despite suffering a serious leg injury which forced him to miss much of the campaign.When Alan Ball was named Preston manager in the summer of 1970, Irvine found himself out of the team.He joined Brighton & Hove Albion in July 1971 after impressing during a loan spell earlier in the year.