Gillingham's fortunes on the field gradually improved and the team finished in the top half of the Third Division South on three occasions, helped by the goals of Ernie Morgan, who in 1954–55 set a new club record by scoring 31 league goals. In 1956–57 and 1957–58, however, the Gills found themselves once again rooted to the bottom of the table, and this meant that with the restructuring of the league system for the 1958–59 season, the team was placed in the newly created Fourth Division – a top-half finish would have led to placement in the new national Third Division. 1958 also saw the departure of long-serving manager Archie Clark, who had held the post since before the Second World War, with Harry Barratt taking over.