 Unable to break into the first team at Celtic, he had trials at a variety of clubs both within Scotland and outside it before moving to England to join Southern League Dartford in 1935.A year later he moved to Ipswich Town, then also in the Southern League, and helped them win the 1936–37 championship.The following season Ipswich finished third in the Southern League and successfully applied for election to the Football League, where they were placed in the Third Division South.