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He initially joined Burnley as an apprentice footballer in 1984 and was just 17 when Tommy Cavanagh gave him his first chance in the first team. He made his debut as a substitute in a home defeat against Southend when he replaced Jim Heggarty and a week later he started for the first time in a 4-0 win at Cambridge.
But it was a short lived spell in the first team. He scored his first goal just two games after that full debut in a 1-1 draw at Scunthorpe but a week later he broke his leg in the first minute of the home game against Orient.
He won his place back and for the remainder of the 1985/86 season and the following season he was a regular in the side and it was in the almost disastrous 1986/87 season that he provided us with one of those goals that will always be remembered.
It came at Swansea in a 2-2 draw and is still up there amongst the best Burnley goals anyone will have seen as he seemed to take on the entire Swansea defence before turning two defenders on the edge of the box before unleashing a shot into the top corner that gave the keeper no chance. The goal even appears on the ‘Rhapsody in Claret and Blue’ video.
He did though manage to just about miss our two big games at that time, the Orient game and then our trip to Wembley for the Sherpa Van Final. He was the substitute against Orient and one of two subs at Wembley but on both occasions had to spend the entire ninety minutes on the bench. He had scored one of the goals at Deepdale that had seen us win through to Wembley.
He was released by the club in 1989 by new manager Frank Casper having made 88 league appearances and moved into non-league football and played for a time for Accrington Stanley.
He now returns to the Turf to work alongside fellow ex-Clarets Andy Farrell, Gerry Harrison and Vince Overson in our very successful community programme.