Of Scottish parentage, Armstrong was born in
Bridgnorth,
Shropshire, while his father was working in the area. Spotted while playing for
Beith Juniors, he made 88 appearances and scored three goals in the
Scottish Football League playing for
Kilmarnock, and made 94 appearances, scoring twice, in the English
Football League playing for
Southampton,
Notts County and
Birmingham City. He was part of the Southampton squad that finished second to
Liverpool in the
1983–84 season. He signed for
Walsall in February 1986 for a fee of £10,000, broke his ankle in his first training session, and nine months later, still only 27 years of age, retired from football because of the injury without ever playing for the club. == Later life ==