years for £2.5 million, while Brian McClair returned to Motherwell on a free transfer. In December, however, McClair was back in the Premier League as Brian Kidd's assistant at Blackburn Rovers. Season summary At the end of 1998–99, the Premiership would have three Champions League places. Manchester United as well as runners-up Arsenal and third placed Chelsea would be playing in the following season's Champions League. There would only be one automatic UEFA Cup place from the league – taken by fourth-placed Leeds United. Fifth-placed West Ham United qualified for the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup after achieving their highest league finish for thirteen years as they continued to make progress under Harry Redknapp, outperforming several "bigger" clubs with greater resources. Also qualifying were Newcastle United via the 1998–99 FA Cup final, and Tottenham Hotspur via the League Cup. Bottom of the Premiership in the final table came Nottingham Forest, who suffered their third relegation in seven seasons. One notable low for Forest this season was an 8–1 drubbing at home, by Manchester United. Second from bottom came Blackburn Rovers, who just four seasons earlier had been Premiership champions. The final relegation place went to Charlton Athletic, who went down at the end of their first spell in the top flight for nine seasons. The only newly promoted club to survive was Middlesbrough, who finished in a respectable ninth place. None of the teams relegated from the Premiership the previous season regained their top division status in 1999, although First Division champions Sunderland regained their Premiership place after a two-year exile. The other two relegation places went to long-term absentees from the top division. Playoff winners Watford regained their top division place after an absence of 11 years, but runners-up Bradford had been outside of the top division for 77 years. These two promotion winners surprised the observers more than any other Division One side during 1998–99. Teams Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough (both teams sealing an immediate return to the top flight) and Charlton Athletic (playing in the top flight after an eight-year absence). This was also Charlton Athletic's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley and Crystal Palace, with all three relegated teams immediately returning to the