 Although he soon restored Edwards to the side, the talented forward became disillusioned, and at the end of the 1985–86 season, left for rivals Leeds United for £125,000, and the club finished in 7th position.McEwan's first full season in charge saw the Blades finish in a disappointing 9th place, but saw the Blades debut of future Manchester City, Everton and Bradford City player, Peter Beagrie, signed from Middlesbrough.The following season saw him trying to mix youth with talent, by giving debuts to future Blackburn star Chris Marsden and to Charlton Athletic and Grimsby Town legend Clive Mendonca, but results saw the club drop into the bottom half of the table, and McEwan tendered his resignation on New Years Day 1988 after an embarrassing 5–0 defeat at home to Oldham Athletic.