 Although Purves played in the opening two matches of the 1953–54 season, he was then dropped in favour of Roy Williams; his final Southampton appearance came on 6 March 1954.At the end of the season he was released, having made a total of 36 appearances with four goals for Southampton.After retiring from full-time football, Purves remained in the Southampton area, working at Vosper Thornycroft and continuing to play non-league football until his mid-40s, including a period as player-manager of Basingstoke Town.