After a reasonable start to the season, manager Steve Wignall quit in January expressing that he had taken the club as far as he could.

Mick Wadsworth was appointed his replacement and duly brought in a number of new players on permanent and loan contracts.

In January 1999, seven days after handing raw forward Lomana LuaLua his debut, Wignall quit the club, citing that he had taken the team as far as he could and left frustrated at the role agents were playing in deals he had been trying to set up.

Crowds had risen to an average of 4,479, but swingeing cuts were made to the playing staff at the end of the season.

[56] Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.