The club hit the local press for all the wrong reasons early in 1977 with a story that the club was £23,000 in debt and two weeks from bankruptcy. There followed a drastic re-organisation and effort both on and off the field which, over several years, restored financial equilibrium. Unfortunately one of the adjustments was on the playing front. Manager Dennis Hunt left and player Bobby Nash took on the role. He was replaced in April 1978 by Gordon Burden who assumed the player-manager role. Gordon had first played for the club in 1954–55 and he was in his fourth stint as a 'Town' player. On-field performance suffered as a result of the financial tightening and the team endured a run of lowly finishes. The 1978–79 season was a particular low point as the Town scored an all-time record low of 28 league goals from a programme of 40 matches. Overall in all competitions the team scored 35 goals in their total of 46 matches. Dave Clay top-scored with 8 goals and Peter McRobert next highest with 7. Over the next twenty years Peter would go on to make a club record 765 appearances for the 'Nuts and Bolts'.