He built a talented young team but left the club for the management position at Notts County in January 2002, months before promotion would be secured.
He returned to Mansfield as manager in December 2006 but was sacked in March 2008, soon before the club were relegated out of the Football League.
[3] He began his career with hometown club Oldham Athletic, who finished ninth in the Third Division in 1963–64 under the stewardship of Les McDowall.
His 15 goals in 1969–70 brought him to the attention of bigger clubs and prompted Sheffield United to invest £10,000 in his transfer in August 1970.
He proved to be an immediate success at Bramall Lane, as he scored 14 goals in 1970–71 to help John Harris's "Blades" to secure promotion out of the Second Division with a second-place finish, three points behind champions Leicester City.
Knee injuries then began to affect his first-team appearances, and United plummeted to relegation with a last-place finish in 1975–76 under a new boss Jimmy Sirrel.
[4] Dearden returned to Chester, now managed by Alan Oakes, to score seven goals in 36 Third Division appearances in 1976–77.
Dearden returned to Mansfield Town later in 1999 and was appointed the club's new full-time manager following Steve Parkin's departure.
During his three-year stay as Mansfield manager, he brought up several talented youngsters from the youth team, including Liam Lawrence, Bobby Hassell and Lee Williamson, and signed key players such as Chris Greenacre and Wayne Corden, guiding the "Stags" to the verge of promotion.
Dearden joined Notts County in January 2002, with the club on the brink of relegation and suffering serious financial problems.
[10] At the time of his departure County were second bottom of the division after losing a crucial "six-point game" with Peterborough United.