New manager Sean O'Driscoll came into the club as a fan of McGugan, having previously tried to sign him on loan at Doncaster Rovers; he stated that "When I came in and told him about it, I said 'You keep falling out with managers' and he said: 'No, they fall out with me'". However he only scored two goals under O'Driscoll and no goals at all under his successor Alex McLeish, before rediscovering his form under returning manager Billy Davies. McGugan scored in six successive matches from 5 March to 6 April, earning seven points for the club's ultimately unsuccessful play-off push.