Ken Knighton led the Rokerites to promotion out of the Second Division in 1979–80 – they finished runners-up, just a point behind champions Leicester City – with Turner playing 30 of the club's 42 league games as he fended off competition from Barry Siddall. He then featured 31 times as they consolidated their First Division status with a 17th-place finish. New manager Alan Durban then led Sunderland to a 19th-place finish in 1981–82, with Turner being limited to only 19 league appearances. He regained his first-team status in the 1982–83 season, playing 41 matches as Sunderland posted a 16th-place finish; during the season he managed to keep six clean sheets in a row. Len Ashurst took charge for the end of the 1983–84 campaign, and kept faith in Turner, who ended the season with 48 appearances to his name. He featured 53 times across the 1984–85 campaign, his last one at Roker Park, as Sunderland were relegated in 21st-place. Sunderland did also make it to the League Cup final at Wembley Stadium in 1985, but lost 1–0 to Norwich City after Gordon Chisholm deflected Asa Hartford's shot past Turner just after half-time. The campaign did end on a positive note on a personal level for Turner, as supporters voted him the club's Player of the Year.