Early career Black began as a youth player with Tranent Boys Club. He was also a youth player at
Hibernian, where he played alongside
Scott Brown. Black first signed a professional contract with English Premier League club
Blackburn Rovers, but he did not play for their first team.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle After being released by Blackburn, Black joined
Inverness Caledonian Thistle in July 2004. Black made his debut as a substitute on 7 August 2004 against
Livingston, with his first start coming on 9 April 2005 against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. In his first season, he made 13 appearances. He scored his first goal for the club on 5 November 2005 with a fifth-minute strike against
Dunfermline. The following season on 30 December 2006 he was sent off for a second bookable offence against
Falkirk. He made 132 league appearances for
Caley, and scored eight goals. His last game for Inverness was against Falkirk in a 1–0 loss for Inverness, which saw them relegated to the
Scottish First Division.
Heart of Midlothian It was reported in
The Scotsman newspaper on 24 December 2008 that Black had agreed in principle to sign a pre-contract agreement to join boyhood heroes
Heart of Midlothian in the summer of 2009. Hearts confirmed that he had signed the agreement on 28 December and would join up with the club for the 2009–10 season. On 2 July 2009, Black finally signed for Hearts after signing a pre-contract agreement in December 2008, marking a return to the club he once served as a ball boy. He made his debut on 17 August 2009 as a substitute against
Dundee United at
Tannadice, with his first start coming on 23 August against
Rangers. He scored his first goal for Hearts on 13 February 2010 with a long-range effort against
Falkirk in a 3–2 win. In his first season with the club he made 32 appearances in all competitions, scoring once. Early in the 2010–11 season, Black was criticised by
Rangers player
Nikica Jelavić, who claimed that Black had intentionally injured him during a match. Black apologised for injuring Jelavic. He was sent off again against
Kilmarnock on 29 October 2011. On 14 January 2012 he was given a yellow card for an attempted trip on
Paul McGowan, invoking a ban because he went over the points threshold. This prompted his manager to comment that he was being booked because of his reputation rather than the incidents. In December 2011, with Hearts having problems paying wages, it was reported that Black had taken a part-time job as a painter. At half time in the match against Dunfermline on 17 December the stadium announcer played
Paint It Black by the Rolling Stones and after the
Edinburgh Derby on 2 January 2012 he revealed a T-shirt with the message "I'll paint
this place maroon" in reference to his part-time job. On 30 April 2012, Hearts announced that Black would leave Hearts in the summer. Black helped Hearts win the
2011–12 Scottish Cup, defeating Hibernian 5–1 in the
2012 Scottish Cup Final.
Rangers It was reported on 4 July 2012 that Black had agreed a deal in principle to sign for Rangers, depending on which division of the
Scottish Football League the club was admitted to. On 24 July 2012 he began a trial training spell with the club. It was announced on 28 July that Black had signed a three-year deal with Rangers subject to clearance. He made his debut for Rangers as a trialist on 29 July against
Brechin City in the first round of the
Scottish Challenge Cup, Rangers won the match 2–1. Black scored his first Rangers goal in a 4–0 victory against Queens Park on 9 February 2013. In September 2013, Black was suspended and fined £7,500 after admitting breaches of
Scottish Football Association rules in relation to betting on matches. Black was released by
Rangers at the end of the 2014–15 season. and
Raith Rovers, Black signed for English
League One club
Shrewsbury Town in September 2015. He made his debut in a second-round tie of the
Football League Trophy against
Fleetwood Town the following month, and scored his first goal for the club in a 4–2 victory over
Sheffield United at
Bramall Lane in November. Black played regularly for the remainder of the season, helping Shrewsbury avoid relegation and also reach the fifth-round of the
FA Cup, although he had a poor disciplinary record, picking up 13 yellow and 2 red cards in less than seven months. He left Shrewsbury on 31 January 2017, after having his contract cancelled by mutual consent.
Blackpool In February 2017 Black joined
League Two side
Blackpool on a contract until the end of the season. He was released in May 2017, after making 10 appearances for the club.
Later career Black joined
Northern Premier League side
Skelmersdale United in October 2017. He moved on to
National League North side
Chorley at the end of October. Black signed for Scottish junior club
Tranent in January 2018, then joined
East of Scotland League Premier Division club
Dunbar United in March 2020. ==International career==