in the third tier in 1968–69, some 15 points behind second placed Swindon Town. A battle against relegation followed in 1969–70, and Bingham departed Home Park in March 1970; the club went on to finish 17th under Ellis Stuttard's stewardship. Still Northern Ireland's boss, he took charge of the country's biggest club, Linfield, in August 1970. His one season at Windsor Park was highly successful, as he led the "Blues" to the 1970–71 Irish League title, three points ahead of rivals Glentoran. The club also lifted a treble of trophies, in the form of the Ulster Cup, Gold Cup, and Blaxnit Cup. He stood down as "Norn Iron" boss in May 1971, and left Linfield as well in August. During his time as coach of the national team, Northern Ireland played 20 games, winning eight, drawing three and losing nine games. They had missed out on qualification to the 1970 FIFA World Cup after losing to the Soviet Union in Moscow. In the British Home Championship tournaments, they finished third in 1969, fourth in 1970, and second in 1971. Greece Bingham took charge of the Greece national side in September 1971, replacing Lakis Petropoulos. The Greeks lost 2–0 to England at the Karaiskakis Stadium on 1 December, Geoff Hurst and Martin Chivers the scorers, to ensure English qualification to Euro 1972. He left his post in February 1973 after two defeats to Spain meant Greece failed to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. AEK Athens Immediately after his departure from Greece, Bingham took charge at AEK Athens, who were then looking for a replacement of Branko Stanković. He stayed at the club for three months before he was sacked due to the bad results that kept the club out of the spots that lead to next season's European competitions. Everton Bingham returned to English football when he took over as manager at Everton in May 1973, replacing Harry Catterick. Signing players such as Martin Dobson and Bob Latchford, he led the "Toffees" to seventh in the First Division in 1973–74, two points off a place in the UEFA Cup. Everton seemed likely to win the title again in 1974–75, but only won once in the last five games to finish a disappointing fourth, three points behind champions Derby County. In 1975–76 Everton finished eleventh, as a period of decline set in at Goodison Park. A run of eight league