McCombe joined Port Vale in May 2008, and after establishing himself in the first-team in 2008–09 and 2009–10, he managed to win the club's Player of the Year Award in 2011.

He signed for Chester in June 2017 before moving to Harrogate Town in February 2018, who he helped to win promotion out of the National League North via the play-offs three months later.

[2] He made his first-team debut on 3 May 2003, coming onto the pitch as a late substitute for Jon Stead in a 1–1 draw with Oldham Athletic at Kirklees Stadium.

[citation needed] He turned in a number of impressive performances, preserving Hereford's unbeaten record and scoring his first professional goal from a Kris Taylor cross in a 2–0 FA Cup victory against Hartlepool United.

[18] Retaining his first-team place in 2009–10, he was transfer listed in late September 2009, along with the entire Port Vale squad, after manager Micky Adams saw his team slip to a third consecutive defeat.

[22] This brought to an end his run of 29 consecutive starts, and kept him out of the team for the next six weeks, as manager Micky Adams switched his tactics during McCombe's absence,[23] moving from a 3–5–2 to 4–4–2 formation.

[28] Adams continued to use McCombe in the heart of the Vale defence at the start of 2011–12, however, he dropped him from the first-team after 11 matches in favour of loan signing Liam Chilvers.

[30] However, he was dropped after the next match, a 4–0 defeat at home to Morecambe, only to win back his first-team place the following month after turning down the chance to leave the club on loan.

[31] With the loanees back at their parent clubs, Gareth Owen out injured and Clayton McDonald in court, McCombe helped to guide teenage centre-back Joe Davis through the final stages of the season.

[citation needed] On 25 August, he scored in a 3–1 win over Morecambe at the Globe Arena, earning himself a place on the League Two Team of the Week.

[36] McCombe himself picked up an injury on 1 January 2013, damaging knee ligaments in a defeat to Fleetwood Town, and was ruled out of action for several weeks.

[37] Vale secured promotion with a third-place finish at the end of the season, with McCombe playing 37 matches in a regularly changing four back.

[38] McCombe signed for Mansfield Town on 1 June 2013, and was described by manager Paul Cox as "a commanding player who will add knowledge and experience to our defence".

[42] On 15 February 2014, he scored a brace and claimed an assist in a 4–0 victory at Plymouth Argyle, earning himself a mention on the Football League Team of the Week.

[44] On 1 February 2016, McCombe left Bootham Crescent by mutual consent after not playing a match three months into new manager Jackie McNamara's tenure.

[48] He retained his first-team place for the following season, and scored the winning goal as Macclesfield won 1–0 away to League One team Walsall in the first round of the FA Cup.