 Five defeats in the opening six games left the club second-from-bottom, before the integration of loanees Ben May, Tommy Wright and Joel Kitamirike yielded an improvement in form in September, going unbeaten and winning three of five matches.In October, amidst speculation that former Brentford manager Steve Perryman would return to the club as director of football, manager Wally Downes was assured that his role would not be affected.Perryman eventually turned the offer down.