The fact that relegation from Division Two had been suffered by a margin of only two points offered some hope that the team would be able to stage a bid for immediate promotion back during the 2003-2004 campaign.

Manager Bobby Gould made six new signings, chief amongst them the capture of former West Brom, Bolton Wanderers and Bristol City legend Bob Taylor. A tribunal-set £10,000 fee was paid to Forest Green Rovers for striker Kayode Odejayi and among the other new arrivals were a rare foreign import - French midfielder Bertrand Cozic - and former ball-juggling champion Craig Dobson.

The Carling Cup brought a disappointing first round home exit against Queens Park Rangers, although there was excitement aplenty in the opening league fixtures. The team scored 16 goals and conceded 14 in the opening six games leading Gould to dub his team 'The Entertainers.' On one chaotic August afternoon half the team got caught in traffic surrounding a motorway accident. The match against Swansea kicked off late after the police had escorted them to the ground but the visitors claimed all three points with a last minute goal in a 4-3 win.

Damian Spencer then scored a spectacular hat-trick in a 3-3 draw at Hull City, while Taylor's first goals came in a 4-1 win at Leyton Orient and a rip-roaring 4-3 home victory over Northampton Town.

Results took a turn for the worse with a 3-0 home defeat to Cambridge United in September followed shortly afterwards by a 5-2 thrashing at Scunthorpe United. By now Gould had shipped in loan defenders Kevin Amankwaah and Darren Jones from Bristol City but they were unable to stem the tide of goals into the back of the team's net.

Cheltenham were defeated 3-1 at Boston United, Spencer ending up in goal after the sending off of Steve Book, but the final straw came with a limp 2-0 home defeat against Rochdale. Gould marched into the Director's Box and tendered his resignation immediately after the final whistle.

After two games in the caretaker charge of Bob Bloomer, the Board of Directors appointed former York City, Bristol Rovers and Bristol City manager John Ward as the new boss. Ward had previously worked at Watford, Aston Villa and Wolves and his impressive track record marked him out as the proverbial 'safe pair of hands.'

With the team having dropped perilously close to the relegation zone, Ward's immediate remit was to tighten up the defence and ensure Football League survival.

This task was achieved with a succession of draws and narrow wins, although the team did achieve back-to-back 4-2 and 3-2 wins over Mansfield Town and Lincoln City respectively.

Cheltenham's recent FA Cup success continued as the team reached the Third Round Proper for the third consecutive season. 3-1 victories at home to both Hull City and Leyton Orient resulted in a trip to play Fulham at their then home of Loftus Road.

This was the first time Cheltenham had ever played a top flight team in a competitive match and they relished the occasion before a crowd of 10,303 including 3,218 from Cheltenham. Grant McCann smashed a long-range shot past Dutch international goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar (pictured below) to give the Robins a highly unlikely lead. French international Louis Saha brought the scores level but Cheltenham appeared to have clung on for a famous draw and a replay when, with injury time looming, Saha glanced in a header to steal the victory. Saha was sold by Fulham to Manchester United for £12million shortly afterwards.

In the second half of the season Ward moved into the transfer market to capture midfielder/defender Brian Wilson from Stoke City and midfielder Karl Henry on loan from the same club.

A difficult season came to a close with the general feeling that the club and team were in better shape at the end of the campaign than they had been at the start. Ward underlined his determination to change things by releasing 10 players during the course of his tenure. Among them were club legends Mark Yates, Lee Howells and Steve Book, who made way for a younger generation of signings to take the club forward.

During the course of the season some of the already established younger players such as Shane Duff, David Bird and Shane Higgs further cemented their places in the squad. Higgs was voted Player of the Season after enjoying by far the best campaign of his five at the club to date.

Player of the Year: Shane Higgs

Top goalscorer(s): (12) Grant McCann

Most appearances (all comps): (48) Grant McCann & Jamie Victory

Nationwide Division 3: 14th - 56pts

Average home league attendance: 4,123

League Cup: R1 - Queens Park Rangers

FA Cup: R3 - Fulham

LDV Vans Trophy: R1 - Colchester United