BARNSLEY Football Club completed the signing of Republic Of Ireland international Stephen McPhail from Leeds United in early July 2004.

The last time the Reds signed a current international from either England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or Eire was in 1990 with the capture of Gary Fleming from Manchester City.

The 24-year-old was born in London and joined the Elland Road club as a trainee in 1997. He impressed coming through the ranks with the Whites, making his Premier League debut as a substitute against Leicester City in February 1998. Stephen made four further appearances as a substitute during his first season, including against the Reds in a 2-1 success for Leeds United at Elland Road back in April 1998.

The 1998/99 season say the youngster push on, making 18 first team appearances for Leeds United in the Premier League. He also played twice in the UEFA Cup against Roma.

He established himself in the Leeds side the following season with a string of impressive displays both in the league and Europe as the Whites reached the Semi Finals of the UEFA Cup before losing to Galatasaray. Stephen won his first international cap for the Republic Of Ireland at the end of the 1999/2000 campaign when he started the 2-1 defeat against Scotland. He also featured for Ireland against the United States and South Africa during June 2000.

The following season saw Stephen struggle to hold down a first team place at Elland Road as Leeds went for Champions League glory. He slipped behind the likes of Oliver Dacourt and Lee Bowyer in the Whites midfield and was limited to just seven Premier League appearances. He did feature in three Champions League games including a 3-0 defeat against Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

Stephen again struggled to keep a regular place in the Leeds United team throughout the 2001/2002 season and made just three appearances for the Whites. He won two further of international caps against Croatia and Cyprus before spending a spell on loan with First Division Millwall between March and May 2002.

After returning to Leeds for the 2002/2003 campaign, Stephen established himself in the Whites side, making 13 Premier League appearances. He turned out 19 times in total for Leeds and featured in the UEFA Cup.

He again went out on loan at the start of last season, linking up with Paul Hart at Nottingham Forest. He made 16 appearances at the City Ground and also won further caps against Turkey and Canada. Stephen again went back to Elland Road in late November 2003 and was a regular in the Leeds side that crashed out of the Premier League, making 12 appearances from December until the end of the season.

Stephen won his tenth international cap in the Republic of Ireland's 3-0 defeat against Nigeria in May 2004.

The talented midfielder has made 107 appearances for Leeds United in all competitions, netting three goals.
Stephen endured a nightmare debut season at Oakwell after pulling on a Reds shirt for the first time at MK Dons on the opening day of the 2004/2005 campaign. A high tackle at Walsall in late August ruled him out for two months and he was just getting back to fitness before a disgraceful challenge by Doncaster Rovers' John Doolan in October sidelined him for another eight weeks.

The Irish international bounced back and put in some consistent displays throughout the remainder of the season both in the middle of the park and out on the left wing. He made 38 appearances in total for the Reds, netting two goals.

Highly-rated and impressive, Stephen turned on the style during 2005/2006 to help sweep the Reds into the Championship. The midfielder was without equal throughout the second half of the season as a string of outstanding displays kept the Reds in the play off hunt.

Reds Record
Stephen McPhail (2004 - Present) 79 apps 4 goals

*to end of 2005/2006 campaign