Born in the English town of Corby to Scottish parents, Lavin started his career as a schoolboy at Watford.
Over the next three years Lavin made 149 first team appearances, most of them at right back in place of injured club captain Nigel Gibbs.
[2] Lavin scored three goals during his time at Watford, including one after 13 seconds in a match against future club Millwall.
At Millwall Lavin made 97 appearances over four years, scoring once in the Football League Trophy against Brighton,[5] before being leaving on a Bosman free transfer in 1999, and joining Bristol City.
Over the next two seasons he struggled to recover from the leg break and was forced to retire at the age of 30.