He gained 10 full caps with the Scotland national football team for whom he played at the UEFA Euro 1992 finals in Sweden.

He won Scotland youth caps and then debuted under Billy McNeil on 28 August 1982 in a 7-1 league cup victory at Dunfermline Athletic.

So unsure was Pearce of his footballing future that after the transfer he advertised his services as an electrician in Forest's match-day programme.

At Tannadice McInally quickly became an effective defensive midfielder and played an important part in Dundee United's run to the UEFA Cup Final in his first season.

In early 1996, McInally was due to join Aberdeen in a swap deal for Peter Hetherston, and was paraded at a Pittodrie news conference.

His 10th and final cap was the 5–0 defeat away to Portugal on 28 April 1993 that all but extinguished Scottish hopes of qualifying for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

[8] McInally joined Sligo Rovers as manager at the start of the 1999–00 season but early results did not go his way and he left the club for personal reasons.

[9] In the 2005–06 season, he led Morton to 2nd place in the Division after which they were subsequently denied promotion by losing to Peterhead in the play-offs.

McInally stated his intention to win the Second Division in the 2006–07 season, with that objective met in mid April when nearest challengers Stirling Albion fell out of mathematical contention.

He resigned in February 2008 after a run of poor results allowed Morton to slip into ninth place in the First Division.

[10] On 13 March 2008, McInally was named the new manager of Third Division strugglers East Stirlingshire,[11] succeeding Gordon Wylde who resigned a month earlier.

McInally offered to resign after Peterhead failed to win promotion in 2017–18, but the board of directors asked him to stay on.