Paul Trollope was a surprise name to link up with Derby County in December 1994 from Torquay United – but he quickly went on to make an impact.
After starting his career at his hometown club Swindon Town, where he failed to make an appearance, moving to Plainmoor in the lower echelons of English football proved to be a solid grounding for what was to come further down the line.
He impressed with the Gulls in the early 1990s and linked up with Derby midway through the 1994/95 season in a loan deal, with Dean Sturridge moving in the opposite direction.
His form had attracted clubs higher up the football pyramid and the Rams moved quickly to bring him to Derbyshire.
Trollope featured on 24 occasions in the First Division that season, scoring four times, and went on to move to the Baseball Ground on a permanent basis for a fee of around £100,000.
Under Jim Smith in the following campaign, as Derby secured promotion to the top-flight, Trollope featured less – but made 17 appearances in total over the course of that successful campaign.
Trollope, who represented Wales at full international level, says it was a privilege to be part of the club at such an exciting point in their history.
Looking back, Trollope told dcfc.co.uk in 2017: “Roy McFarland signed me over 20 years ago and I have wonderful memories of player for the football club.
“I was learning my trade down at Torquay United and then a call came offering a loan swap for me and Dean Sturridge, which was interesting. I was delighted that the loan turned into a permanent move and I thoroughly enjoyed the big step up.
“I was disappointed to see Roy leave but the rest was history and we had a wonderful journey when Jim Smith took over. I was really privileged to be a part of that.”
He added: “It wasn’t all plain sailing for me personally; we had a very good squad and I knew my place immediately.
“I have to say I look back at my time with great fondness, I enjoyed my time with the football club.”
Back in the big time, Trollope didn’t feature in the opening months of the season in the Premiership.
He spent time on loan at Grimsby Town and Crystal Palace, but little did he know he still had a big part to play.
Trollope played in 14 of the last 16 games of the season, starting with a 0-0 draw at Leeds United in January, as Smith’s side retained their top-flight status.
He also bagged his first Premiership goal in a 4-2 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in Mach 1997 – while he also featured in the last-ever game at the Baseball Ground.
Trollope said: “A few of us had been put out on loan after the promotion; I played a part but not a huge one.
“The club had strengthened their squad – that was normal and I always knew that going into the season, it would be tough.
“I had been out on loan at Grimsby Town and Crystal Palace. Fate intervened around Christmas for me and Robin van der Laan and we both managed to get into the team to form a great partnership.
“We were sprinkled with some talented players and I think myself and Robbie provided a little bit of backbone to that.
“After a tough first half of the season, to come back and play in the team was a great feeling.
“That second half of the season, it really was a great privilege to be involved in the games that we had - particularly at the Baseball Ground.”
Trollope remained in and around the first-team scene early in the 1997/98 season as the side moved to Pride Park Stadium.
However, with first-team opportunities limited, he dropped down to the Second Division to link up with Fulham and the Mohamed Al-Fayed revolution under Kevin Keegan.
Very much in its infancy, Trollope was only too happy to be part of the project as they eventually progressed to the top-flight with promotion at the end of the 2000/01 season.
He said: “The move came about quite quickly to go to Craven Cottage.
“In the first season at Pride Park, I was involved in about 10 of the games, either starting or off the bench so it came a bit out of the blue.
“I think when any club is willing to listen to offers and Kevin Keegan was very persuasive when I spoke to him.
“It was a huge project in its infancy down there and I was delighted to get on-board with it. It was a wonderful journey for four years and as it got bigger and bigger, I probably fell down the squad a little bit.
“It was a remarkable story when you look at it. It was something very different – players dropping down to a League One club – but the ambition was there and the staff was there to make it happen.
“There was a lot of hard work that went into it and the competition was fierce. A lot of money was spent and the expectation was huge.”
Since hanging up his boots Trollope, who is 47, has enjoyed a career in coaching and management.
He managed Bristol Rovers between 2005 and 2010, while he also was in the hotseat at Cardiff City for 12 games at the start of the 2016/17 campaign.
His last post was as the assistant manager to Chris Hughton at Brighton & Hove Albion between November 2016 and May 2019, while he has also worked on the international stage with Wales as a coach.
He explained: “Coaching was something I had always wanted to do and from my mid-20s and I had taken charge of a few youth teams.
“I did my badges quite early and so after Fulham, I dropped down the leagues which enabled me to accelerate my coaching career. That was something I always had my eye on – and my time with Wales really complimented that as well.”
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