Born in
Chorley,
Lancashire, Unsworth began his career in the youth system at
Everton. He made his first team debut in an away game at
Tottenham Hotspur in April 1992. After his family failed to settle in London and only one season and 41 games he asked for a move closer to his
Merseyside home. Rather than moving back to Merseyside, he was signed by
Birmingham-based club
Aston Villa for
£3 million but his family did not settle in Birmingham. After only a month, before the season had even begun, citing problems with the lengthy commute from his home, he returned to Everton who paid Villa the same £3 million West Ham had accepted only a few weeks before. At the end of the
2003–04 season, after a further 216 games and his contract expired, a disagreement with the club over the length of a new contract led to Unsworth leaving on a free transfer. On 12 July 2004, he was signed by
Portsmouth for the
2004–05 season on a free transfer. He made his debut in a 1–1 home draw with
Birmingham City, scoring the equaliser from a penalty. He also scored another spot-kick in Portsmouth's famous 2–0 victory over
Manchester United in October 2004. However, following the resignation of manager
Harry Redknapp, Unsworth lost his place having played just 18 games, and spent the second half of the season on loan at
Ipswich Town, making 16 appearances, scoring on his debut against
Sheffield United. On 22 August 2005, Unsworth was signed by
Sheffield United on a three-year contract, on a free transfer after it became clear that Ipswich Town could not afford his wages. He was part of the team which were promoted to the
Premier League as Championship runners-up at the end of the season. He missed a penalty for United in a 0–0 draw against
Blackburn Rovers on 9 September 2006. Unsworth fell out of favour at Sheffield United under the management of
Neil Warnock, and was placed on the transfer list in the January window. On 5 January 2007, Unsworth signed for
Wigan Athletic from Sheffield United on a free transfer. He played his first match on 13 January against
Chelsea. scoring his first goal against
Leicester City. On 8 August 2008, Unsworth joined
Huddersfield Town on a one-year deal after impressing on trial in their pre-season. He along with five other players made his debut in a 1–1 draw against
Stockport County at the
Galpharm Stadium on 9 August 2008. Unsworth missed a penalty in a 2–1 defeat away at
Millwall on 30 August 2008 and did not feature again. He was released from his contract on 30 March 2009 after making four appearances, and announced his retirement from football shortly afterwards. ==International career==