in january 2003, lambie announced that he would retire at the end of the season as he did not agree with new regulations in football; he had attempted to sign nathan lowndes and steven ferguson on loan from english clubs but was barred by fifa as they had both recently played in scotland for other teams. on 17 may 2003 he made his farewell in his last game at firhill stadium, a 1–0 loss to dundee united, having already guaranteed survival in the spl on a considerably lower budget than their competitors. he became a member of the club's board and had a brief fourth spell as manager from december 2004.