He was born in Halifax but grew up in southern London. His playing career as a centre-half started at Charlton Athletic in 1960. He played his first senior game in 1966 but soon left for spells at Exeter City, Lincoln City, Mansfield, Port Vale and Colchester, where he became player-coach and then youth coach in 1976.
In 1982 he became assistant manager to Malcolm Macdonald at Fulham, and in a pattern that would recur throughout his career, stepped up to become manager two years later. He became assistant manager at Luton in 1984, and manager in 1987, in what would become his, and the club's, most successful spell. They finished ninth in Division One (then the top flight) in 1987-8, won the League Cup and were FA Cup semi-finalists. The club returned to Wembley in the League Cup the following season, losing 3-1 to Nottingham Forest. Sacked in January 1990, he became assistant manager, then manager of Wimbledon. As assistant to Kenny Dalglish at ambitious Blackburn from October 1991 he helped the club to the 1995 Premier League championship. When Dalglish resigned, he once again stepped up to become manager until he too resigned in October 1996 after a disappointing start to the 1996-97 season.
Later his career was becoming interrupted by illness, but he managed or coached at West Bromwich Albion, Queens Park Rangers and finally Millwall. He was first-team coach at Millwall at the time of his death from cancer at the age of 58.