 During the 2006 – 07 season, manager Colin Todd had been sacked because of a poor run of results. Club captain David Wetherall was originally appointed Todd's successor on a caretaker basis, before being handed the role until the end of the season, during the following month. Wetherall could not stop City's run of poor form, and the club were relegated to League Two on 28 April 2007 after a 3 – 0 defeat at Chesterfield. It was the club's third relegation in seven seasons, and meant the 2007 – 08 season would be their first season in the fourth division of English football in 25 years. On 22 May 2007, former City player Stuart McCall, who had played more than 400 games for the club during two previous spells, was announced as the club's new manager to take over on 1 June 2007. Although the club had just 13 players with first-team experience, the bookmakers made City second favourites to win the League Two title.
