At 16, David McDermott stepped from Walsall's bench against Sheffield Wednesday in a 2004 League Cup tie, making his first-team debut and beginning a senior career that would run from the Football League into the non-league game. The cup appearance was separate from his later league debut, for which Walsall identified him as its youngest ever league debutant. The Stourbridge-born winger died in September 2026 at 38.

McDermott came through Walsall's youth system and remained with the Saddlers until 2008. BBC Sport traced his path from the Walsall academy through the clubs that followed.

Kidderminster Harriers signed him after a trial in August 2008. Across the next two seasons, he featured 54 times and scored twice for a side pursuing promotion. Kidderminster Harriers placed those appearances at the centre of its tribute to him.

Another trial opened his York City chapter. McDermott scored in a preseason friendly against Morecambe and earned a contract in late July 2010. He made 21 appearances and scored once between 2010 and 2012. That goal came against Southport in November 2010, when his near-post header completed a 2-0 win, as the BBC Sport match report recorded.

His playing route continued through AFC Telford United, Stourbridge, Rushall Olympic and Worcester City. McDermott later moved into coaching at Gresley, taking caretaker charge in August 2019 before his appointment as first-team manager on September 9. Gresley Rovers said his tenure ended by mutual agreement in February 2020.

The Walsall debut at 16, 54 Harriers appearances, a late York goal and a turn in Gresley's dugout form the durable record of McDermott's football life. Together, those milestones trace one player's path through the connected levels of the English game.