Daryl McMahon

McMahon started his youth career at the age of seven with Neilstown Rangers, before moving on to Cherry Orchard and then Belvedere.[4] McMahon then began his career as a trainee with West Ham United, turning professional in August 2002. In need of first team experience, he joined League Two Torquay United on loan in March 2004,[5][6] making his debut as a late substitute for Martin Gritton in the 2–2 home draw with Yeovil Town on 3 April 2004. However, that was to be his only game for the "Gulls" as he returned to West Ham two weeks early, seemingly at his own request.[7]

He was released by West Ham at the end of the 2003–04 season and joined Martin Foyle's League One Port Vale on non-contract terms in September 2004. He struggled to establish himself at Vale Park and dropped down a division to join Leyton Orient on a free transfer two months later, after rejecting a further short-term deal at Port Vale.[8] Teammate Dean Smith had set up the move to Brisbane Road and would himself join Orient soon after.[9]

After impressing on a non-contract basis, he signed a six-month deal with Leyton Orient in January 2005.[10] He played 33 games of the "O's" promotion winning campaign of 2005–06 but fell out of favour the following season and joined Notts County, back in League Two, on loan in November 2006.[11] After his loan spell finished the following January,[12] McMahon joined Conference National club Stevenage Borough.[13]

A fairly regular member of the first team at Broadhall Way, he was a sub in the FA Trophy final at Wembley. In May 2008 he signed a two-year contract with the club.[14] On 26 November 2008, he was transfer listed by Borough, along with teammate John Martin,[15] and in the January 2009 transfer window McMahon agreed to join fellow Conference Premier club Cambridge United.[16][17]

He made his debut in a 4–1 win over Woking at the Abbey Stadium,[18] but struggled to hold down a place in the team. He was an unused substitute in the 2009 Conference Premier play-off final, as he watched his United teammates lose their second play-off final in as many years. On 16 July 2009, caretaker Cambridge United manager, Paul Carden, announced that McMahon has left the club.[19] He then joined Farnborough for a two-year stay. He enjoyed promotion to the Conference South with the club, as they were crowned champions of the Southern Football League Premier Division in 2009–10. The following year he helped the club to the Conference South play-off final, where they were defeated 4–2 by Ebbsfleet United. In June 2011, he signed for Boreham Wood as a player-coach on a two-year contract.[20] McMahon's stay at Boreham Wood lasted seven months, as in January 2012 he signed for fellow Conference South club Eastleigh for an undisclosed fee.[21] The "Spitfires" went on to post a mid-table finish in 2011–12.

He was sold to league rivals Dover Athletic for an undisclosed fee in September 2012.[22] Eastleigh manager Richard Hill had rejected two bids from the "Whites", before Dover boss Nicky Forster put in a bid that Eastleigh director Stewart Donald felt "matched our valuation" and represented "good value".[23] He played in the 3–2 play-off final defeat to Salisbury City on 12 May 2013.[24]

In June 2013, he signed for Ebbsfleet United for a fee of £13,000.[25] He became a key part of the club's passing style, but credited the club's success to manager Steve Brown.[26][27] The "Fleet" finished fourth in 2013–14 and reached the play-off final, where they were beaten 1–0 by Dover Athletic;[28] this was McMahon's fourth play-off final defeat in six years. He did though play in the Kent Senior Cup final, which ended in a 4–0 victory over Dover.[29] He re-signed with Boreham Wood in January 2015 on a contract lasting until summer 2017.[30] He was also coaching at Tottenham Hotspur and managing Ebbsfleet United, before he retired as a player at the end of the 2014–15 season.[31]

McMahon took charge at Conference South club Ebbsfleet United on a caretaker basis for three games in November 2014, winning two games and drawing one game in the period following the departure of Steve Brown and the appointment of Jamie Day.[30] He was given a two-year management contract at the club in April 2015.[32] He led the club to a second-place finish in the 2015–16 season, however his record of play-off disappointment continued into his management career as Ebbsfleet went on to lose to Maidstone United on penalties in the play-off final.[33] The "Fleet" again finished second in the 2016–17 season, finishing only two points behind champions Maidenhead United. He was named as Manager of the Month for January 2017 after Ebbslfeet won all four of their league games against Dartford, Chelmsford City, Poole Town and Wealdstone.[34] However they made up for their previous season's defeat and justified their 96-point finish after coming from 1–0 down with ten men to record a 2–1 victory over Chelmsford City in the play-off final at Stonebridge Road.[35]

He signed a new five-year contract with the club in May 2017.[36] He was named as National League Manager of the Month for February 2018 after four successive victories took them to the cusp of the play-offs.[37] However, after a poor March he admitted that the focus had turned to building a promotion campaign for the following season.[38] A late surge saw the qualify for the play-offs at the end of the 2017–18 season, though they were then beaten 4–2 by Tranmere Rovers at the semi-final stage.[39] He left the club by "mutual consent" on 7 November 2018.[40]

On 19 August 2019, McMahon was appointed as manager of EFL League Two club Macclesfield Town, succeeding Sol Campbell.[41] He got off to a good start on the pitch, however the "Silkmen" squad released a statement to say they had gone unpaid for the month of September as HM Revenue and Customs delivered the club a winding up petition.[42] He resigned on 2 January 2020 after financial problems resulted in players striking, which left the club unable to fulfill fixtures and punished with a six-point deduction.[43]

Within 24 hours of leaving Macclesfield, McMahon was appointed as manager of National League side Dagenham & Redbridge.[44] The season was suspended on 26 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England and no further matches were played; Dagenham were 18th in the table at the time.[45] They finished the 2020–21 season in 12th-place, which McMahon saw as evidence the club was building in the right direction.[46] After six wins in the first two months of the season, McMahon was awarded the league's Manager of the Month award for August/September 2021.[47] He won the award for a second time for December 2021 after a 100% record across the month.[48] Dagenham ended the 2021–22 season in eighth-place, missing out on the play-offs by a single point despite beating runners-up Wrexham on the final day.[49] In May 2022, he was reported to be a contender for the vacant management position at AFC Wimbledon.[50] On 24 February 2023, Dagenham parted company with McMahon with the side sitting in tenth position, five points off of the play-offs.[51]

In September 2023, McMahon joined former club Leyton Orient as a development and set-piece coach.[52]

As of match played 21 February 2023

Leyton Orient

• League Two third-place promotion: 2005–06

Stevenage Borough

• FA Trophy: 2006–07

Farnborough

• Southern Football League Premier Division: 2009–10

Ebbsfleet United

• Kent Senior Cup: 2014

Ebbsfleet United

• National League South play-offs: 2017[35]

Individual

• National League Manager of the Month: February 2018,[37] August/September 2021,[47] December 2021[48]
• National League South Manager of the Month: January 2017[34]