 His recent performances had earned him interest from higher division clubs including Leeds United.For the 2008–09 season, North struggled from fitness and injury problems from the start, and following the dismissal of Alan Buckley, he found himself out of favour with new manager Mike Newell.Newell had brought in several new signings such as Adam Proudlock and Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro, which eventually left North with only run outs in the reserves, even finding it hard to claim a place on the substitute bench.