A clear-out was clearly necessary and, as Lewington went off to Palace as coach, the board appointed the controversial Ian Branfoot as manager.
It was a selection that underwhelmed supporters for Branfoot had a reputation for a physical approach to the game, and an emphasis on the long ball.
As a player, he had been a tough, uncompromising defender, with Sheffield Wednesday and Lincoln, and the Reading sides he managed to promotion from the Fourth and Third Divisions in the 1980s were certainly direct and took no prisoners.
His reputation suffered at Southampton, where his two and a half year tenure was marred by appalling personal abuse from so-called supporters, but he was seen as a no-nonsense manager who could stop the rot at the Cottage.
From the start, Branfoot brought in a number of new players, often the wrong side of 30 and usually with a spell at Southampton on their CV.
The football certainly was not pretty and, initially not very successful, but his term did mark a turning point.
There was a new commitment amongst the players who applied themselves to the demands of lower level football. A more physical and direct approach was needed in the Third Division, a fact of which Branfoot was well aware.
He created a new spirit amongst the squad and stood up for the players internally and, if the results were not apparent during his reign, he created the conditions on which his successor could build.