Moran attended
Price's School in
Fareham and appeared for his school team, where he was spotted by scouts. He signed for Southampton in August 1979. In the
1980–81 season, Moran scored 18 goals in 31 starts in the league, and in 1982 he was voted
PFA Young Player of the Year. Moran scored a
hat-trick in an 8–2 victory over
Coventry City at
The Dell in April 1984. In the same year, Moran scored an injury-time winner in the 4th round of the
FA Cup, away to arch rivals
Portsmouth. During the following season he moved to
Reading. For the
1991–92 season he moved on to
Exeter City and after 57 senior appearances he transferred to
Hull City for
1993–94. ==Post-football career==