The early part of the 1990s saw little progress in terms of the club's Football League position, with seventeenth position being attained on no less than five consecutive occasions, under five different managers. Indeed, both Colin Addison and John Sillett were brought back for a season each in an attempt to revive the club, with little success. However the club managed to hit form under Graham Turner, who joined at the beginning of the 1995–96 season. In early 1996 the club mounted a challenge for promotion when they went from nineteenth position to sixth position in two months, securing an unlikely play-off place. However they were unable to sustain this form in the play-offs, losing over two legs to Darlington. The season was also notable for the fact that Steve White, with 29 goals, was the highest league goalscorer in the top four divisions of English football thus emulating Dixie McNeil who achieved the same feat twenty years previously.