 Still, however, top flight football eluded the club.They came close several times in the early 1970s under the player-management of Terry Neill, but were not able to secure promotion before Neill left to join Tottenham Hotspur in 1974.Another player-manager, John Kaye succeeded Neill, but the club's form slowly deteriorated over the following years, eventually culminating in a disastrous 1977–78 season that saw four men (Kaye, Bobby Collins, Wilf McGuinness, and Ken Houghton) take charge of the team on its way to being relegated in bottom place.