It was a bad time to go down. Money owed to the Football League teams by the TV company ITV Digital was never paid, and Derby were one of the clubs to suffer worst. They had to sell their best players and rebuild a team with mostly very young players. They finished 18th after a difficult season. In late March, Gregory was suspended and George Burley came in as a temporary manager. At the end of the season Gregory was sacked and Burley took over fully. Owner Lionel Pickering lost control of the club and a new board of John Sleightholme, Jeremy Keith and Steve Harding came in. Derby finished 20th in the 2003-2004 First Division campaign, but did much better in the 2004-05 season and finished 4th in the Division which was now called the Football League Championship. This meant they won a promotion play-off spot, but lost in the semi-finals to Preston North End. Soon after losing, Burley left. Derby then employed Phil Brown for a short period who was then replaced by the Academy Coach, Terry Westley, who kept the club up in the 2005-06 season.