Born in
Drogheda, he was a trainee at
Blackburn Rovers. However, he failed to play a first team game for Blackburn and was released on a free transfer in 1996, moving to
Scottish Premier Division side
Kilmarnock.{{cite web In December 1997, he returned to England with
Mansfield Town. He made his debut on 2 December in a 2–1 defeat to
Torquay United and later the same season scored the first goal of his professional career as Mansfield defeated
Peterborough United 2–0.{{cite web ==References==