Darren Patterson

Darren James Patterson Date of Birth: Oct 15, 1969

Belfast born Darren was taken on by West Brom from school but after failing to make the grade moved on to Wigan where he first tasted League football. Such was his form at Springfield Park that Crystal Palace put in a £225,000 bid for him in 1992 but then, surprisingly, left him in the reserves for two years.

Darren finally managed to force his way into the Eagles Premier League side in 1994-95 but as he was now a full Northern Ireland international needed the guarantee of regular first team football.

Turning down the offer of a fresh contract at Palace, he instead accepted a £150,000 move to Terry Westley’s Luton in 1995 but the strong full-back or central defender was never truly regarded as a first choice although a succession of injuries did not help his cause.

After spells at Dundee United, York and Oxford an Achilles injury ended his playing career. Darren then became first team coach at Oxford United before managing the club.