 Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Evans was spotted by scouts from English team Bolton Wanderers when playing for his local youth football club in Glasgow, and he joined Bolton after leaving school.Evans failed to break into the first team at Bolton and was released in 1979.He then returned to his native Scotland and joined Clyde, where he played in 36 league matches, scoring four goals, before joining Albion Rovers in 1981, where he scored 28 goals in 76 league matches during three years at Cliftonhill.