| pld | w | d | l | f | a | pts | |
| a | |||||||
| Wigan Athletic | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 32 | 14 | 41 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 27 | 12 | 36 |
| Preston North End | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 36 | 22 | 34 |
| Oldham Athletic | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 26 | 28 | 28 |
| Blackpool | 17 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 32 | 25 |
| Carlisle United | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 26 | 33 | 19 |
| Stockport County | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 29 | 32 | 18 |
| Burnley | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 28 | 40 | 17 |
| Bury | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 25 | 27 | 16 |
| Rochdale | 17 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 33 | 14 |
Wigan, Tranmere, Preston and Oldham qualify for Merit League Division 1, Blackpool, Carlisle and Stockport go into Merit League Division 2 and Burnley, Bury and Rochdale into Division 3.