Small began his professional career with
Luton Town and made three
substitute appearances for them in 1981–82. After a stint on
loan at
Peterborough United, Small played in Belgium with
Standard Liège, the Netherlands with
Vitesse Arnhem,
NAC Breda and
Go Ahead Eagles, and in Greece with
PAOK. Small spent the 1990–91 season at
Second Division side
Brighton & Hove Albion and scored 21 goals, a total which made him the club's top scorer, helping them to reach the
play-off final. He joined
West Ham United of the
First Division in 1991 for a fee of £400,000. He made his debut against Luton on 17 August 1991 and scored 18 goals in his first season, but could not prevent the club being
relegated, and found himself returning to the Second Division. Small received a
red card in the first game of the 1992–93 season and, with competition from
Trevor Morley and recent arrival
Clive Allen, rarely featured after that. He played his last game for West Ham against
Notts County on 13 March 1993. Towards the end of his Hammers contract, Small spent time on loan to
Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he scored against
Sunderland, and also with
Charlton Athletic in 1993–94. He signed for
Lawrie Sanchez at
Sligo Rovers in November 1994 and scored on his
League of Ireland debut at
Cobh Ramblers Small briefly returned to the league by signing for
Derry City F.C. in January 1998 but only made one appearance. ==European competitions==