After making his debut at the end of
season 1969–70, Rough went on to play a total of 631 games for
Partick Thistle in all competitions (409 in the
league), Rough told
The Scotsman in 2010: "I loved playing for Thistle, loved winning the League Cup with them, and maybe I stayed there too long but that was me. I never thought about 'career' and I never bothered about money. All of my business ventures – the pub in
Maryhill, the sports shop in
Musselburgh – failed. But I absolutely loved standing in the
Wembley tunnel next to these English stars like
Kevin Keegan and
Emlyn Hughes when I was on 40 quid a week at Thistle, when the previous week at Firhill the crowd had been 2100, and we were about to walk on to the park and enjoy a famous win." Shortly after his testimonial game in 1982 (
Scotland XI vs Celtic), Rough transferred to
Hibernian for a £60,000 fee. He was eventually replaced by
Andy Goram, who also took his place in the Scotland squad. After leaving Hibs in 1988, Rough played in the United States with
Orlando Lions. He also had spells with Celtic (covering for the injured
Pat Bonner),
Hamilton Academical and
Ayr United before leaving senior football. He was won the
SFWA Footballer of the Year and finished runner-up (separated by a single vote) for Scottish Football Personality of the Year in 1981. ==International career==