As a player, Hutchison was a midfielder, who played in the Premier League for Liverpool, West Ham United, Everton, and Sunderland.

He started his career in the 1989–90 season at Hartlepool United, under the direction of Cyril Knowles, in the Football League Fourth Division.

Hutchison's talents were quickly spotted by bigger English clubs, and he was soon transferred to Liverpool, under the direction of Kenny Dalglish, for a fee of £175,000 on 27 November 1990.

[7] Kendall spoke highly of Hutchison after his performance in a 1–0 win against a Blackburn side chasing European qualification on 14 March 1998, praising the range and vision of his passing in the face of some typically robust challenges by Tim Sherwood and Billy McKinlay.

Hutchison found himself out of the side at the start of the 1998–99 season due to new manager Walter Smith's preference for his new signings Olivier Dacourt and John Collins.

Hutchison turned down a new deal in March 2000, stating that he wanted parity with other top earners at the club, but had only been offered an extension on his current terms.

He was subsequently dropped from the squad for these comments, but injuries to Kevin Campbell and Francis Jeffers saw Hutchison return to the side as a striker for the away game at Leicester City in April, where he scored the equalising goal.

Despite his history with Liverpool, Everton fans were unhappy at the apparent future sale of Hutchison, who had only one year left on his deal.

Although he retained his place until the end of the season, no new contract offer was made by the club and Hutchison moved onto Sunderland in a deal worth £2.5 million.

He refused to take his final two wage packets from cash-strapped Luton, instead offering to sponsor two youth team players from the 2008–09 season.

[20] Born and raised in Gateshead in north-eastern England, Hutchison consistently stated his desire to play for Scotland, citing a strong relationship with his Scottish father (a miner for 35 years, originally from Nairn).

Hutchison recalls: "I remember Christian Dailly playing a good pass to Neil McCann and him delivering a great cross.

Scotland lost the tie 2–1, their quest to reach three consecutive major tournaments unravelled by a Paul Scholes double in the first leg at Hampden.

Craig Brown said of Hutchison, "Don has the all-round game to make things happen, he is good in the air, has an excellent touch and is a terrific passer, lacking only pace.