eventually finished in a very creditable third place. They were just two points behind runners-up West Bromwich Albion and six behind champions Wolverhampton Wanderers. This remains Huddersfield's highest finish in the Football League since World War Two, yet a decline was soon to set in. 1954–55 saw them slip down to 12th spot, despite a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals, and Beattie offered to resign that August only to be persuaded to stay on. At this point Town appointed Bill Shankly to assist Beattie, the two men having been former teammates at Preston North End years earlier, but relegation was again around the corner. Huddersfield struggled in vain to avoid the drop, in a season that saw the emergence of future England full-back Ray Wilson, and they succumbed to the inevitable ironically with Sheffield United, the side with whom they had been promoted three years before. Beattie resigned in November 1956 as he felt he had taken the team as far as he could. Bill Shankly was thus left in charge as Beattie sought out a new career as a sub-postmaster at Penwortham, Preston, where he could spend more time with his wife and four children. Later career However, football had been his life and in May 1958 he answered the call to manage Carlisle United, where he stayed until moving to top-flight Nottingham Forest in 1960. His next stop was at Plymouth Argyle, where he was appointed manager in 1963. There he helped stave off relegation from Division Two in 1963–64 but his next job was to end in disaster. He was appointed caretaker manager at Wolverhampton Wanderers in November 1964, replacing Stan Cullis. The team were bottom of the table at this point, with just three points. Beattie was unable to halt their slump and the club dropped to the Second Division after 23 seasons in the top flight. He began the new season still at the helm but resigned after nine games, ending with a 9–3 thrashing at Southampton in September 1965. After a stint scouting for Brentford, Beattie's next port of call was Notts County, who made him 'advisor' to Peter Doherty in December 1965. In March 1967 County made him general manager where he remained until joining John Harris at Sheffield United as assistant manager in October 1967, and before retiring he also held coaching or scouting positions with both Walsall and Liverpool. Scotland