 With a new artificial pitch laid and John McGrath at the helm Preston stormed to promotion with John finishing the season as the club's leading scorer.The rumour however of a fall out with manager McGrath only increased with Thomas being dropped several times during the season to be replaced by the likes of Nigel Jemson, Frank Worthington and Steve Taylor.He did though every time regain his place in the team, ending the season with an excellent 28 goals.