Born in
Banbury, Wilson started his career at
Southern League club
Banbury United, before signing for
Derby County in 1979 for £20,000, which remains the record transfer fee received by Banbury. After Derby he played for
Ipswich,
Chelsea,
Notts County,
Bradford City,
Walsall, and
Northampton Town. At international level, Wilson played for
Northern Ireland 42 times, scoring six goals. He is a former manager of Northampton Town,
Bedford Town,
Kettering Town and
Hucknall Town. He was the manager of
Corby Town until January 2008. On 1 June 2009 he was appointed manager of
Conference North side
Ilkeston Town. In May 2015 Wilson left
Ilkeston to become manager of
Nuneaton Town, following their relegation from the
Conference Premier. In 2014–15 he had led Ilkeston to the
Northern Premier League play-off final, where they lost to
Curzon Ashton. In January 2024, he was appointed as the manager of Banbury United. ==Honours==