Sean Gregan

Gregan quickly established himself as a first team regular at centre half at Darlington and it was only a matter of time before a bigger club would sign him.

He signed for Preston North End in November 1996 for a bargain fee of £350,000.

He was converted to a defensive midfielder by the club and appointed captain in December 1997.

He reached 100 matches for Preston, 200 league matches and 250 career matches in the 1998-99 season and was also chosen for the PFA Division Two side.

He suffered a serious calf injury, and a cracked bone in his back which restricted his performances for the Second Division championship winning season, but made the PFA Second Division team of the season for the second year running.

Gregan alternated positions in 2000-01between centre half and a position in central midfield.

Personal milestones of 150 games for North End and 350 career games were followed by six weeks out after a cartilage operation in January.

Preston just missed out on promotion being beaten in the Play-Off Final by Birmingham City, but Gregan did not let the disappointment effect him in 2001-02 when he had another excellent season.

Gregan's transfer request was accepted by West Bromwich Albion in August 2004 and he joined Leeds United with a three-year contract.

Following a loan spell, he joined Oldham Athletic in January 2007 with a contract to June 2009 which was later extended to June 2010 then to June 2011 in January 2010.