Few players have braved a tougher route to the top than Darren, who overcame
massive hurdles early in his career to become one of the Premier League's
most consistent and reliable defenders in the three years since joining
United from QPR. The Bristol-born centre-back found himself out of work
following the collapse of his first club, Newport County, in 1989 - but
Hereford United stepped in to take him to Edgar Street. How ironic that
both of Darren's first two professional clubs should now have lost their
League status. He battled back from serious injury before joining Queens
Park Rangers for £200,000 in December 1990, and three years and three
months later United paid a then club record fee of £2.7m to bring
him to Tyneside.
