Carlisle entered the final match of the season needing to win against Plymouth Argyle at Brunton Park to avoid relegation, and the score was still 1-1 with ninty minutes showing on the clock. The referee allowed 4 minutes of stoppage time, and during the final minute Carlisle were handed a corner. Goalkeeper Jimmy Glass, signed in an emergency loan deal after the transfer deadline, drove home a last-minute winner which preserved Carlisle's Football League status and demoted Scarborough. Once again, Carlisle just avoided relegation in second from bottom place in Division Three. They lost their final game of the season 1-0 to Brighton, but were kept up by Chester City's defeat at the hands of Peterborough United. Ian Atkins, one of the most successful managers in the lower leagues, was appointed at the Carlisle helm and there was huge potential that he could be the man to achieve promotion. However things didn't work out, and they finished 22nd - just one place higher than in the previous 2 campaigns. Atkins left at the end of the season and was succeeded by Roddy Collins.

After 3 seasons of close shaves with relegation, Carlisle enjoyed the ease of attaining a safe final position of 17th - which saw the club finish sixteen points clear of the relegation zone.