 In the following season he had his best season for Sunderland, as (now under manager Denis Smith) they stormed back into the Second Division as champions of the Third Division.This success was followed two years later by a return to the top flight; the "Black Cats" finished sixth and lost 1–0 to Swindon Town in the play-off Final at Wembley, however Swindon were found to have made illegal payments to their players and so Sunderland were promoted instead.Sunderland again struggled at the highest level and Agboola was loaned out to Port Vale in November 1990.