Robins' replacement as chairman was Sir Jack Scamp, a local industrial relations expert who had previously chaired Rugby Town F.C.. Scamp remained in the role for two years before being replaced by Phil Mead. More significant, however, was the return of Jimmy Hill to the club as managing director, which was announced at the end of the 1974–75 season. It was not initially clear what Hill's role would be, and his Coventry City duties were combined the job with his ongoing television and consultancy work, but his arrival was greeted with less optimism than when he had first joined the club in 1961. The 1975–76 season saw a similar pattern to the previous, but supporters were shocked when star midfielder Dennis Mortimer, who had been with the club since the age of fifteen, was sold to arch-rivals Aston Villa for £175,000. The fans, who had assumed Mortimer would be the player around whom the team was built, were outraged at the apparent lack of ambition at Coventry, and the sale proved to be poor value as Mortimer went on to have a stellar career and captaincy at Villa, culminating in victory in the 1982 European Cup Final.