He scored the winning goal in the FA Cup quarter-final against West Ham United but missed out on both the semi-final and the final due to a knee injury.

He spent time out on loan to Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town before joining Sheffield United on a free transfer in January 2013.

After eight months at Bramall Lane, he left to join Conference Premier side Chester before ending his career with a short spell at Altrincham.

Higginbotham made his international debut for Gibraltar in a friendly against Slovakia in November 2013 at the age of 34, qualifying through his maternal grandmother.

He got off to a bad start at the club and asked to return to Old Trafford after being abused by Antwerp supporters outside the Bosuilstadion, and had to be talked into staying by manager Regi Van Acker.

[10] Higginbotham played six games for United during the 1999–2000 season, including appearances in the UEFA Champions League and at the Maracanã Stadium in the FIFA World Cup Championship.

[14] He failed to break into the first team on a regular basis as Denis Irwin, Phil Neville and Mikaël Silvestre were all preferred ahead of him at left-back.

[15] Higginbotham's desire to play regular first-team football led to him joining Derby County for a £2 million fee – a large sum for a young player with just four top-flight appearances to his name.

[17] Higginbotham made his debut in a 2–2 draw with Southampton, and had a good start to his Derby career until he was substituted at half-time during his third appearance after struggling to contain Everton's Niclas Alexandersson.

[18] Manager Jim Smith soon switched to a new system without any full-backs but Higginbotham adapted well to playing on the left-side of a three-man defence.

[23] This would prove to be the last win of a relegation campaign, with the only remaining positive to the season for Higginbotham coming when he was voted as the fans' Player of the Year.

[27] He featured in Southampton's FA Cup run in 2002–03, playing once in the fifth round against Norwich City,[28] but was an unused substitute for the final against Arsenal.

Higginbotham had scored the equalising goal in the penultimate match of the season at Crystal Palace, but a final day defeat to Manchester United left Southampton two points from safety.

[33] George Burley took over from Redknapp in December 2005, though neither manager was able to put together an effective promotion campaign, and Southampton ended the season 12th in the Championship.

[35] Higginbotham joined Southampton's Championship rivals Stoke City on 3 August 2006 for an initial £225,000 fee,[36] and quickly cemented a regular place in Tony Pulis's starting line-up.

Higginbotham proved to be a typical signing as he felt unwanted at Southampton and said his career had been reinvigorated by the move to the Britannia Stadium.

During this run, Higginbotham scored the only goal of the game against local rivals West Bromwich Albion after deposing Carl Hoefkens as the club's penalty taker.

[41] Though Stoke narrowly missed out on the play-offs, a successful personal campaign culminated in Higginbotham being voted the club's Player of the Year.

[46] On 10 November 2007, Higginbotham scored the opening goal for Sunderland which was believed to come off his ear in a 1–1 draw with their Tyne-Wear rivals Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light.

[52] With the summer signing of Danny Collins, Higginbotham was dropped to the bench before regaining his place in the team, mainly being utilised in his more natural position in the centre of defence, and scored the first goal in a 3–0 win over Blackburn Rovers on 8 February 2010.

[66][67] Pulis spoke of his disappointment at losing Higginbotham but also stressed he would play a key role in the final few matches of the season due to his influence in the dressing room.

[80] He was expected to extend his loan until the end of the season but Higginbotham rejected the deal saying he wanted to be based closer to his home,[81] and left Portman Road having played 12 matches.

[83] On 1 January 2013, Higginbotham signed for Sheffield United on a six-month contract,[84][85] and made his debut for the club against their South Yorkshire rivals Doncaster Rovers the same day.

[89] On 29 August 2013, Higginbotham joined Conference Premier club Chester on a one-year deal after falling out of the Sheffield United first team.

[91] After leaving Chester, Higginbotham signed for Altrincham of the Conference North, as he wished to continue playing on a part-time basis with fewer travel commitments.

[97][98] Higginbotham made his international debut in Gibraltar's first ever match as a UEFA member, a 0–0 draw in a friendly against Slovakia, on 19 November 2013.

[102] In February 2013, Higginbotham began to write his own column in The Sentinel, a local newspaper in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire area.