Town rejoined the Welsh Alliance the next year, finishing seventh and again winning the Alves Cup while the resrves won the Clwyd League’s REM Jones Cup.

By now a settled and ambitious outfit, 2001/2 saw Prestatyn appoint Graham Hunter as manager and Tony Thackeray became club chairman. Town were runners-up in the Alves Cup and the reserves retained the REM Jones Cup. 2002/3 saw managerial changes again when Paul Thomas and James Ainsworth took over the reins.

After a couple of seasons of underachievement there was change again for 2003/4 when Jim Hackett and Steve Jones took over and the transformation was immediate, Town finished third and just missed promotion to the Cymru Alliance.

Hackett left for a job at Chester City after a year and 2004/5 was a season of mixed fortune under the management of Lennie Dunster and Martyn Jones with a disappointing start leaving the team too much to do to catch the leaders and the Seasiders eventually finished sixth but did reach the final of the NWCFA Challenge Cup for the first time, losing 3-0 to Bangor City at Llandudno. Town were not outclassed by their Welsh Premier opponents and but for some wayward finishing, could have made the final scoreline a lot closer.

2005/6 was the season that really marked an upturn in Prestatyn’s fortunes when, under the chairmanship of Steven Jones, Town appointed Dave Fuller as player-manger and retained Martyn Jones as assistant and the club looked forward to the coming season with new hope and a five-year plan to attain Welsh Premier status. A policy to concentrate on the league title paid off in fine style with the team winning the Welsh Alliance title for the first and remaining unbeaten all season and ending up nine points clear of runners-up Denbigh Town.

Their record of 25 wins and five draws in 30 games makes them statistically the best team ever to win not only the Welsh Alliance, which started in 1984, but also its predecessor competition the Welsh League North, which dates back to 1935.

Only four title-winning teams in the history of both leagues have emerged undefeated at the end of a campaign - Caernarfon Town did so in 1978/79 (15 wins and five draws), Colwyn Bay in 1980/81 (17 wins and five draws) and Halkyn United in 1999/2000 (19 wins and five draws) but none of that trio’s unbeaten records compares with Prestatyn’s which stretched 30 matches.

Only four teams managed to take a point off the Seasiders – Denbigh Town (twice), Rhyl Reserves, Llanrug United and Conwy United.

Ironically, Prestatyn could have lost their very first league game against Conwy, who equalised in injury time at Bastion Road and then hit the crossbar moments later but the closest call for Town came at Llanrwst United in March. Dave Fuller’s side were 2-1 down with less than five minutes left – the Roosters having missed a spot-kick – when Llanrwst conceded a needless penalty which Prestatyn converted.

United had three players sent off in the protests that followed – and another after the final whistle – and Town even sneaked a last gasp winner.

Such are the things champions are made of.

Icing on the cake was a rewarding run in the Welsh Cup which ended in a narrow 2-1 defeat to Welsh Premier Carmarthen Town in front of 268 people at Bastion Road. The season also saw the reserves, under manager Sean Pritchard, finish a strong third in the Clwyd League’s Premier Division and winning the President’s Cup by beating Llandyrnog 5-2 at Halkyn United.

Off the field the new clubhouse extension was completed along with a new seated stand and hard standing around the pitch to comply with the requirements of the Cymru Alliance and in their first season, Fuller – now assisted by Neil Gibson – had a wobbly start but regained the team’s composure to finish fourth and reach the final of the CAL League Cup and the NWCFA Challenge Cup.

Dave stood down in the close season with Gibson taking over as player-manager for 2007/8 and with the majority of the squad staying, the push for Welsh Premier football began in earnest.

With a brief to `forget the cups, win the league` the Seasiders set the pace from their opening game, a 5-1 home drubbing of Ruthin Town. Early exits from the Welsh Cup, League Cup and Coast FA Cup did nothing to dent morale and what became an unstoppable machine ploughed on through the season and to an inevitable conclusion.