Darren James Wright (born 14 March 1968) is an English former footballer, who played as a defender. Originally a centre-back in his youth, he played professionally at full-back. He is the current head coach of the Kernow football team in

Non-FIFA football Non-FIFA international football is the segment of international football that is not overseen by FIFA. FIFA is the international governing body of association football, overseeing football globally and with running international representative ma ...

Playing career

Wright would get his start at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, the club he supported, playing for their second team whilst still in school, however he would only make one senior appearance for the club – an away match at Plymouth Argyle. In 1986 he would sign for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, where he would make 110 appearances in 4 years, winning Young Player of the Season in both the 1987–88 and 1988–89 seasons. His Wrexham and fully professional career would come to an end through cruciate and cartilage damage in his knee, sustained in a match with

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

in a 50/50 challenge with forward

Mark Rankine Simon Mark Rankine (born 30 September 1969) is an English former footballer, who played over 700 games in English football in a 19-year career. Club career Early career Rankine began his career as a schoolboy at Manchester United, but was not o ...

. After his recovery, he would move to non-league football with

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City's ...

, spending a year at the Worcestershire club. He would then move to

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

, where, during his two-year spell there he would win promotion from the Doc Martens league to the Conference, and the FA Trophy. After Cheltenham, he would move to Stafford Rangers before ending his career at

Halesowen Town Halesowen Town Football Club is a football club based in Halesowen, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Grove Recreation Ground. History The club was believed to have been established around 1873, but rec ...

Coaching career

After football, Wright would hold many coaching jobs, including senior team coach at

Rushall Olympic Rushall Olympic Football Club is an English football club based in Rushall, a former mining village now forming part of the northern suburbs of Walsall. The team plays in the . History Early years Although football had been played in the villa ...

, assistant manager at Continental Star and coaching youths at

. He managed

Panjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

in 2016, taking them to the final of the

2016 ConIFA World Football Cup The 2016 ConIFA World Football Cup was the second edition of the ConIFA World Football Cup, an international football tournament for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA organised by ConIFA. The tournament was ...

. In 2018 he took charge of the first Kernow football team.

Personal life

During a charity game he played for Wrexham Veterans against Mold Alexandra on 12 July 2014, Wright suffered a heart attack. He made a full recovery and was still playing charity matches in 2015.

Honours

Individual

*Young Player of the Season: 1987–88, 1988–89

Team

*Promotion from Southern Football League: 1996–97 * FA Trophy: 1997–98

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Darren 1968 births English footballers English Football League players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Halesowen Town F.C. players Living people Association football defenders