He received a benefit match in 1955 and was granted a free transfer in 1956 after making 354 appearances and scoring 42 goals in all competitions for York, joining hometown club Barnsley in May to run their reserve team. He managed to play for Barnsley due to an injury to one of their first team players and he was able to "demonstrate that his old skills had not deserted him". He made 29 appearances and scored four goals in the league for Barnsley before joining Accrington Stanley in October 1957, where he "once more belied his age with some top class displays". He made 30 appearances and scored two goals for Accrington in the league and joined Bradford Park Avenue as player-coach of the reserves in July 1959.