When second-tier Norwich decided, at the tail-end of the 2002-03 season, to cancel the last two months of Darren Kenton’s contract, so as to save on his wages, Premiership Southampton snapped him up on a “Bosman” free-transfer.

The chairman, Rupert Lowe, was “delighted to have got such a quality, English player,” who had “talked to a few clubs but [had] chosen Southampton.” Lowe reasoned that Darren’s versatility at the back would provide both “cover in the middle and increased competition for places on the right.” 

But that build-up from the chairman was no guarantee of a place in manager Strachan’s rebuilding of the side that had lost, a week after Darren’s arrival, in the FA Cup Final. He had made but one start for Strachan before the latter left. As managers and their signings came and went and Darren suffered a series of injuries,

he never started more than four games on the trot in his three seasons at St Mary’s. Having afforded him Championship Football on loan, Leicester made the deal permanent for two seasons. After third-tier football with Leeds and Cheltenham, in turn, Darren then played on either side of the Ontario/New York State border for a year before in 2013 becoming a London-based fitness trainer. He was tempted back into football by one of his ex-clubs in 2016, coaching Norwich’s U13s and U14s.