DARREN PURSE FACTFILE

Born: Bethnal Green, London, 1977 (Age 38) 1994-98 Made his debut for Leyton Orient at 17. After two years at the club, he was sold to Oxford United for £100,000 in the summer of 1996.He made 56 appearances in two years before moving to Birmingham for £600,000. 1998-2004 Made two appearances for the England U21s and established himself in the Birmingham side, scoring in the League Cup final defeat against Liverpool in 2001. A year later, he helped the Blues to promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs. Played 29 times in the top-flight before moving to West Midlands rivals West Brom for £750,000. 2004-2013 After a single season at the Hawthorns, he dropped down to the Championship to join Cardiff City for just under £1m. He was made captain, spent four years in Wales and was part of the squad that made it to the FA Cup final in 2008 before losing to Portsmouth. The centre-half then went on to play for Sheffield Wednesday, Millwall, Plymouth and Port Vale, helping the latter to League Two promotion in 2013. 2013-Present After spending a brief spell in Finland with IFK Mariehamn, he dropped into Non-League football with Chesham United and joined Conference club Welling earlier this season. A UEFA A Licence holder, Purse currently manages the AFC Rushden & Diamonds U18s.