Danny Wilson - a career in local football

Wilson had spent 20 months in charge at Hillsborough from July 1998 before being sacked in March 2000 with the club heading for relegation from the Premier League.

Now 56, Wilson’s journey has been a magical mystery tour. Wilson started his playing career in his hometown of Wigan before a stint in Bury was followed by three years at Chesterfield. After Nottingham Forest and Brighton, Wilson joined Luton and played in the 1988 League Cup final against Arsenal. The Gunners were leading when Wilson headed home a Mark Stein cross with seven minutes to go. Brian Stein then scored a free-kick for the Hatters with less than a minute left. He repeated the feat with Wednesday in 1991 and was also part of the team that lost out to Arsenal in both 1993 cup finals.

Appointed Barnsley player-manager, Wilson guided the Tykes to sixth, normally enough for the play-offs but in 1995 only two teams were promoted. He also got 24 caps for Northern Ireland. In 1997/98 Wilson steered Barnsley to the top flight for the first time in their history although they lasted just one season.

Wilson moved to Hillsborough in 1998 and guided them to 12th but he was sacked in March 2000, two months after four Labour MPs called for him to be fired. Bramall Lane was next on his local journey, a move met by some protesters who opposed him on the grounds of his Owls connections. Promotion from League One appeared on the cards before the Ched Evans furore derailed the club and United finished third behind Wednesday before losing the play-off final on penalties. He left the following season after a poor run of form. That was followed by 15 months at Barnsley before he was named new boss of Chesterfield last December.