 He quickly established himself as a regular in the Boothferry Park defence, securing promotion to the Second Division for the 1985–86 season and then helped them finish an impressive sixth at that level, just missing out on a place in the First Division for the first time.This was the closest he would come to a top flight return for another five years.After 221 league appearances for them he was signed by Joe Royle's Oldham Athletic for a club record fee of £460,000 in 1990.